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Southern Seaport in a Storm
(Baroque Europe )
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.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Don Marcello Massarenti Collection, Rome [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1902, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 5/13/1952 | Treatment | other |
| 12/7/1955 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; coated |
| 2/17/1976 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 7/15/2004 | Treatment | cleaned; loss compensation; coated |
Geographies
Belgium, Antwerp (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 28 1/16 x W: 49 3/4 in. (71.2 x 126.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters with the Massarenti Collection, 1902
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.1921