Ludolf Bakhuizen is a brilliant Dutch marine painter, skilled engraver and calligrapher

Ludolf Bakhuizen (December 28, 1630 November 7, 1708) is a famous Dutch artist of the 17th century, an outstanding master of seascape. Ludolf Bakhuisen also painted biblical paintings and portraits of his contemporaries, created engravings and miniature models of ships. The best masterpieces of his work today are kept in museums in the Netherlands, Germany, England, France and Italy, and the artist’s biography is closely connected with Amsterdam.

In his youth, Ludolf Bakhuisen was seriously fond of calligraphy and mathematics, but later completely devoted himself to painting and graphics. Among the admirers of his work were many influential European rulers, including the Russian Tsar Peter the Great and the Italian Duke Cosimo III de ‘Medici.

Biography of Ludolf Bakhuisen Ludolf Bakhuisen was born on December 28, 1630 in the city of Emden, which at that time was part of the Netherlands, and today belongs to Germany. His parents fled here from neighboring Norden at the height of the Thirty Years’ War, after which his father worked in the Emden municipality, first as a court clerk and later as a notary. In addition to Ludolph, the family had two more children a son and a daughter.

After graduating from the local Latin school in 1649, the young man left for Amsterdam and stayed forever in the Dutch capital. At first, the young Bakhuisen got a job as a simple clerk in a trading company, but soon learned to draw skillfully with a pen on paper in his spare time and, thanks to his beautiful handwriting, became a popular calligrapher.

But in 1651, Ludolph firmly decided to connect his life with painting and became a student of the famous landscape painter Allart van Everdingen, and a few years later he continued his studies with the marine painter Henrik Dubbels. The first independent works of Bakhuisen date back to 1658, and the work of Willem van de Velde der Ältere greatly influenced the formation of his artistic style.

In 1663, Ludolph Bakhuisen became a member of the Amsterdam Guild of St. Luke, and from that moment on, the artist’s financial situation began to improve rapidly. He bought a spacious house, equipped a workshop in it, and for many years made a living by painting seascapes and portraits. The painter’s regular customers were many German princes, and his close friends were famous Dutch writers and scientists.

The personal life of the master cannot be called calm and happy. His first wife died shortly after the wedding in 1657, the same fate befell the painter’s second wife three years later. Then, in 1664, Bakhozen married again, in this marriage his daughter Maria was born, but this family union was short-lived. The third wife of the master also died suddenly in the mid-1670s, after which Ludolph married the daughter of a wealthy merchant Alida Greffet for the last time. In the fourth marriage, Bakhuisen had three sons, of which only one Johann lived to come of age and left behind offspring.

In 1672, Willem van de Velde de Jonge left for England forever, after his departure Ludolph Bachuizen was rightfully considered the most skillful marine painter in Holland until his death. In the mid-1690s, the authoritative master met Peter I, who visited Amsterdam, and, according to the testimony of his contemporaries, even managed to give several painting lessons to the Russian tsar.

Towards the end of his life, in 1699, for his merits and achievements in the visual arts, the authorities of Amsterdam honored Bakhozen to open his own gallery on the top floor of the city hall, where the artist’s works were constantly displayed. Shortly before his death, the painter visited England, but serious health problems forced him to return to his homeland soon. And on November 7, 1708, Ludolf Bakhuisen died at his home at the age of 77. The body of the great master was interred in the central cemetery of Amsterdam, but his grave has not survived to this day.

The most famous paintings by Ludolf Bakhuisen

The famous Dutch artist has gifted humanity with hundreds of unique works of painting and graphics. And yet, some of the most famous paintings by Ludolf Bakhuisen include:

• “View of Amsterdam from ships in the Bay of Hey” (1666) is a work created by the master by order of the authorities of the Dutch capital as a diplomatic gift to the French minister Hugues de Lionne. Against the background of the distant outlines of the city, the artist depicted many warships that were the pride of the fleet of the Netherlands Republic.
• “Ships in Trouble by the Rocky Shore” (1667) is a dramatic painting depicting several sailing ships desperately fighting the weather. Despite the efforts of the sailors, the ships will face a sad fate, and the crew will surely die.
• “Ships in a Storm” (1667) is a seascape that clearly illustrates the danger of sailing in the open ocean in inclement weather. In the picture, the sailors do not surrender to the mercy of the formidable elements and bravely resist the storm.
• The Naval Battle of Vigo (1702) is a historical masterpiece that captures the glorious victory of the Anglo-Dutch fleet over the enemy off the Spanish coast. The artist painted this picture a few months after the battle based on the stories of numerous eyewitnesses.