Lot 2026 Rα

Adam Willaerts was born in London in 1577 and not in Antwerp, as stated in older literature. His parents had fled from Antwerp to London for religious reasons. Later they settled in Leiden in Holland. Adam Willaerts, already trained as a painter, settled in Utrecht in 1597, where he lived until his death in 1664.
He is considered one of the most important early painters of maritime scenes in the Netherlands. Not only a brilliant colourist, but also an imaginative narrator, Adam Willaerts began to integrate biblical subjects into his coastal landscapes in the 1620s, as is the case in the present work.
Jesus stands at the bow of a fishing boat in a red cloak. Although he is the main subject of the painting, we find our eyes distracted by the many other figures in the composition - for example, the fishermen laying out their catch, the group of three Africans or the group of fancifully dressed horsemen. By placing the biblical story in such a contemporary setting, with some figures dressed in robes in the style of the time of Christ and others in 17th century garments, Willaerts shows his audience the current relevance of the biblical story (the scene illustrated can be found in Matt. 14:34-36). The painter also provides us with a further nod towards the contemporary in the background of the work, for the modern warship is a casual, but unambiguous, remark on its time - an era when the supremacy of the Dutch naval fleet was at its height.
When it was auctioned in 2007, this work was attributed to Abraham Willaerts (1603-1669), one of Adam's sons. However, in the RKD, where it is listed under the number 213409, it is identified as a work by Adam Willaerts.