This is one of the quintessential storms at sea by Jacob Bellevois.

 

Bellevois was a master at representing the essence of such a dramatic event during a tempest at sea. Our Rotterdam master probably studied painting under Julius Porcellis. His stormy seas are strongly influenced by Simon de Vliegher.

 

 

Dutch marine painter

Rotterdam 1620/21 – 1676 Rotterdam

His father, Adriaen Bellevois came from Ghent in Flanders. 

Jacob Bellevois married with Cornelia Uythoeks in 1643 in Rotterdam. The couple had 4 children, but they lost them all. His wife died in 1652, while giving birth to the last child. 

Bellevois remarried with Maeria ‘t Hert in Rotterdam in 1656. The couple was recorded the same year as living in Gouda. They had 2 boys. His second wife died in 1670. 

 

Bellevois was recorded in Gouda again in 1671.

He visited Hamburg in 1673–74. 

Nothing is known about Bellevois’ training but his monochrome paintings of vessels in a calm sea indicate the influence of the atmospheric, so-called ‘tonal’ art of Jan Porcellis (Ghent 1583/85 – 1632 Zoeterwoude), the local artist from Rotterdam of great repute, and of his son Julius Porcellis (Rotterdam 1610/19 – 1645 Leiden), who was strongly influenced by his father.  

Bellevois’ stormy seas are influenced by Simon de Vliegher (Rotterdam 1600/01 – 1653 Weesp), De Vliegher was born in Rotterdam, but he worked in Delft and later in Amsterdam. Between 1637 and 1649 de Vliegher had a house in his birthplace Rotterdam, so he must have returned here regularly. Between 1642 and 1644 he definitely was here, as he had an assignment to paint organ doors for the St Lawrence church. He died already in 1653. Before our Bellevois got married for the second time in 1656 an inventory was made of his possessions: he owned eight paintings by de Vliegher.

 

There are some 200 paintings known by Bellevois; very few of these are dated.

 

 

Jacob Bellevois had two favourite subjects: he painted either several ships together in the calm waters of the estuary of River Maas or one or more ships in distress in a gale near a rocky coast. Our painting is an excellent example of this second group.

 

Under a dramatic grey sky three vessels are driven by a powerful storm towards the shore, where the foam of the waves splashes around. The first ship has already bashed against the rocks and has sunk, the second

boat will soon be thrown onto the cliffs, the crew of the last vessel might escape catastrophe. Typical of Bellevois is the ballet of small figures of seamen trying to avoid disaster, some are climbing up the masts, while others are tossed around by the waves.

 

 

Until his death in 1939 our painting belonged to the important collection of the Dutch banker Dr. Cornelis Johannes Karel van Aalst (1886 – 1939) in his estate in Hoevelaken. Van Aelst was the director of the Netherlands Trading Company, now the ABN AMRO concern.

 

April 1st 1960 our painting was sold at Christie’s London during the sale of “Highly Important Netherlandish Pictures from the Collection Formed by the Late Dr. C.J.K. van Aalst”, lot 34 as monogrammed by Bonaventura Peeters and dated 1647. How strange that someone has wanted to make such a typical painting by Bellevois pass for a Peeters.

 

The painting was loaned to the Centraal Museum in Utrecht, where it was exhibited from 1933 until 1960.

 

 

Because Bellevois masterly captures such a dramatic event set in heavy weather conditions.