Lot 19: Heerman Witmont (Deflt circa 1605-circa 1683) Shipping in a rough sea, a penschilderij

Heerman Witmont
(Deflt circa 1605-circa 1683)
Shipping in a rough sea, a penschilderij signed 'HWITMONT' (on spar, lower right)pen, ink and oil on panel43.2 x 57.8cm (17 x 22 3/4in).

Provenance: In the present owner's family for at least 60 yearsHeerman Witmont specialised in such compositions in black and white which were a remarkable fusion of painting and drawing. The technique probably ultimately derived from the work of Hendrick Goltzius, but for the Mannerist painter it was a bravura demonstration of technical virtuosity, a means of astounding his viewers with his extraordinary dexterity, while for artists such as Witmont and his more famous contemporary marine painter, Willem van de Velde the Elder, it was more a means to an end: their pen-paintings were in a sense translations of shipboard drawings into more permanent works of remarkable clarity and directness, which were sought after and highly valued by their contemporaries. We know directly from the artists' contemporary, Pieter Blaeu, that it was necessary to take special care with the preparations of the panel because of the unusual technique. According to a letter from Blaeu to Cardinal Leopoldo de' Medici, who was negotiating to buy a pen-painting, it was necessary to allow the ground to dry for a longer than normal period, two to three months, 'since otherwise the ground would not have hardened sufficiently to withstand the sharpness of the quill.'