Willem van de Velde the Elder

When the Dutch fleet went out to fight the English in the 1650s and 60s, Willem van de Velde the Elder often went with it. He would take a small vessel close to the action to record the ships, the smoke and the order of battle from life, then work the sketches up back on shore. He thought of himself first as a draughtsman, and signed his letters Scheepsteickenaer, ship's draughtsman.

His speciality was the penschilderij, the pen painting: enormous, meticulous drawings in black ink on a panel or canvas prepared in white, so finely done they can look like engravings until you stand close. He made comparatively few pictures in colour, leaving those largely to his son, also called Willem, who painted the same seas in oils.

In 1672, a disastrous year for the Dutch Republic when it was invaded by land, both men crossed to England and set up a studio under royal patronage. The son was made a court painter to Charles II in 1677, and the elder kept drawing ships until his death in London in 1693.