Who painted De verovering van de Royal Prince?

De verovering van de Royal Prince was painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger in 1670.

Where can I see De verovering van de Royal Prince?

De verovering van de Royal Prince is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is De verovering van de Royal Prince?

De verovering van de Royal Prince is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of De verovering van de Royal Prince?

Museum-quality prints of De verovering van de Royal Prince are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

De verovering van de Royal Prince

Willem van de Velde the Younger , 1670

De verovering van de Royal Prince is an unspecified painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Willem van de Velde the Younger. It dates from 1670 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

The artist painted the smoke and waves to make the scene feel urgent, even though it’s small and detailed.

You see a ship on fire in rough water, with smaller boats crowded around it. The biggest ship, the Royal Prince, is tilting sideways as flames climb its masts. Dutch sailors in rowboats watch or try to help.

This painting shows a real moment from a 1666 sea battle. The Dutch captured the English flagship but had to burn it, they couldn’t tow it home. The artist painted the smoke and waves to make the scene feel urgent, even though it’s small and detailed.

To see more battle scenes like this, visit the Rijksmuseum.

Technique & Style

Willem van de Velde the Younger executed *De verovering van de Royal Prince* using oil paints, distinguishing his practice from his father’s monochrome ink drawings. The work is classified as a marine painting, a genre in which the artist specialized. His handling is characterized by delicate, spirited, and finished execution, with rigorous attention to the accurate drawing of vessels and their rigging. The composition portrays ships with almost photographic precision, serving as reliable guides to 17th-century naval architecture. Formal qualities include a faithful rendering of the sea in both calm and stormy states, alongside the tellingly introduced figures common to his style. While specific support material for this individual work is not detailed in the provided sources, the artist frequently employed both canvas and panel for his marine scenes.

History & Provenance

De verovering van de Royal Prince is a marine painting created around 1670 by Willem van de Velde the Younger, a Dutch artist specializing in maritime scenes. He was the son of Willem van de Velde the Elder, also a marine painter, and was trained by his father and later by Simon de Vlieger. Around 1650 he began collaborating with his father, who prepared black-and-white ink studies of naval engagements, while the younger Velde rendered them in oil color. Political and economic turmoil in the Dutch Republic, including the French invasion of 1672, prompted the Van de Veldes to move to England. There, they were employed by King Charles II, with the elder receiving £100 annually for battle drawings and the younger £100 for colored paintings. The Duke of York and other nobles also patronized their work. The painting was created during a period of intense naval conflict and reflects the artistic partnership between father and son, with the father providing preparatory sketches and the son executing the final colored compositions. It is part of a broader body of work depicting naval battles and maritime life, produced for both private and royal patronage.

Context

Willem van de Velde the Younger emerged from a Dutch marine painting dynasty, trained by his father Willem van de Velde the Elder and refined under Simon de Vlieger before relocating to England in 1672-73 amid the Franco-Dutch War. There he entered the service of Charles II, producing battle scenes derived from his father's ink studies and distinguished by precise ship construction and atmospheric realism. His oeuvre, dominated by Dutch coastal shipping and storm studies, established a benchmark for maritime art that influenced 18th-century English marine painters such as Turner and Constable. Collections in London (National Gallery, National Maritime Museum), Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum), and Washington (National Gallery of Art) preserve his legacy, including record auction sales like $9.2 million for Dutch men-o'-war and other shipping in a calm (2011).