Description
In 17th-century Europe, what caused storms and weather in general was not understood. Many people saw terrible storms in a personalized way, as evidence of God's power and anger at human failings. The wreckage of a ship and crewmen fighting for their lives can be seen in the violent waves in the foreground. The mountains and style of architecture indicate the Italian coast, so a viewer in Antwerp could feel a satisfying shudder without feeling directly threatened. The shipwreck off a mountainous (and therefore foreign) coast was a favored theme for Jan Peeters, as in a similar painting in The Hermitage Museum In St. Petersberg.
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