Shipping at anchor offshore in a calm sea; evening light

Summary

In this fine seascape by Hendrik Dubbels a large vessel lies at anchor on a glassy sea, under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, a lone figure with a basket strapped to his back walks purposefully along the shore. A fishing pole sticks out of the water just in front of him. The shallows are crowded with shipping, while other vessels are scattered in the distance. Dubbels lived and worked all his life in Amsterdam. He was active as an independent painter from as early 1641, when he was only twenty or twenty-one. His early work is characterised by the restricted palette typical of the ‘tonal' phase in Dutch painting, so it is likely that this refined, brighter, quite golden panel was painted between about 1650 and 1660, when he was employed in the studio of Simon de Vlieger (c. 1650-53), and had close contact with Jan van de Cappelle and Willem van de Velde II.