Lot 50: Cornelis Bouwmeester , Rotterdam 1652 - 1733 The Dutch VOC ship De Concordia in a calm sea, a flagship and a smalship in the distance oil on panel, a penschilderij

signed on the barrel lower right: C/ BOV/ MEES/ TER oil on panel, a penschilderij

measurements note 47.8 by 69 cm.

J. Giltaij and J. Kelch (eds.), Lof der Zeevaart. De Hollandse zeeschilders van de 17de eeuw, exhibition catalogue, Rotterdam 1996, pp. 459-61, reproduced p. 461.

THE PROPERTY OF ANOTHER GENTLEMAN
Although Cornelis Bouwmeester was mostly famous for his large tile-pictures with seascapes and coastal views, painted on majolica or faience, this painting shows he was equally adept a master of penschilderijen. Inspired by Willem van de Velde the Elder, his monochrome marine pen paintings are characterised by the exquisitely detailed and accurate portrayal of all kinds of shipping, quietly composed in calm seas, in full battle, or even shipwrecked. In this painting, Bouwmeester has depicted in great detail the Dutch VOC sailing ship, De Concordia. De Concordia, a relatively large frigate weighing approximately 900 tons, was built in 1696 for the VOC-chamber in Delft. In 1697 it sailed of for the East-Indies for the very first time, returning again in 1701 and 1706. The ship's itineraries have been recorded in logbooksυ1,υ but it is only from drawings and paintings like the present work that we can imagine how impressive the ship must have been in real life: the mirror of the ship was very richly decorated, depicting an allegory of concord in the form of a female figure holding the horn of plenty, with a large banner with the name of the ship, and the coat-of-arms of all the six chambers of the VOC.

On 15 January 1708, under the command of admiral Joris Vis, De Concordia left Bavaria, never to return to Holland; she was last seen in open seas near the coast of Mauritius on 5 February 1708, according to the journals of an accompanying ship, in very heavy storms.

1. See P. van Dam, Beschrijvinge van de Oostindische Compagnie, Eerste boek, vol. I, The Hague 1927.