(Delfshaven circa 1660–1720)
Sailboats on a choppy sea: a penschilderij,
monogrammed, lower right: A. S.,
mixed media: pen, ink and oil on panel, 17.9 x 26 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection

Adriaen van Salm specialised in the technique of penschilderij, a practice that consists of drawing in ink with a reed or quill pen on a panel or canvas with a specially prepared gesso surface in order to produce a highly refined image. These monochrome works typically represented marine subjects, whale hunting or occasionally winter scenes and they are distinguished by a high attention to detail. Works by van Salm are conserved in the Naval Museum of Rotterdam and the present group can also be compared to a series of four panels conserved in the British Museum, London (inv. nos. 1886. 1122.1–4).

Works such as the present lot were especially sought after by collectors during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The first practitioners of penschilderij were Willem van de Velde (1611–1693) and Caspar van den Bos (born 1634) both of whom specialised in depicting ships under sail and whaling subjects. In combining the use of pen with brush and wash to indicate shadows. Van Salm closely followed the technique employed by Willem van de Velde. A trait typical of van Salm is the use of a sharp stylus to scratch away parts of the inked surface to create specific effects.

Adriaen van Salm lived most of his life at Delfshaven where he was a draughtsman, painter, teacher as well as a linen trader. On 19 October 1706 he was recorded as the master Teykenaar (master draughtsman) of the Delft Guild of Saint Luke. His only known works are pen paintings, such as the present works, or port or whaling scenes. Indeed, at his time Delfshaven was a principal whaling centre.