The Gust
Willem van de Velde II
WILLEM VAN DE VELDE II, c.1680. OIL ON CANVAS.
In a world with immediate access to images, it’s easy to forget the utility that painting held for millennia. It was the primary medium of visual documentation, serving as not just an art form but a vehicle for posterity. In 1674, after a successful career in the Netherlands cut short by the economic collapse of the country, van de Velde and his father entered the service of Charles II with the remit to capture the glory and truth of the British Navy. His paintings are scientific and obsessive in their accuracy, every rope, rivet, sail and facet of the ship are depicted with complete faithfulness and they remain the most valuable resource that maritime historians have to understand the types of ships used in the 17th century. Yet, for all the required information they contain, van de Velde’s genius was in his ability to communicate this information within the context of drama and emotion. ‘The Gust’ is a work of urgent feeling, the precarious situation of the ship, with its collapsing sail, is mirrored in the ominous sky that seems to engulf it as it joins with the waves. Painting may have been a form of utility, but in the hands of master, it remained an art form of emotion.