JUSTUS DE VERWER

SHIPPING ON THE IJ BEFORE AMSTERDAM

The Dutch marine painter from the period of the Golden Age Justus de Verwer was the son and pupil of Abraham de Verwer. Although followed his father in theme, he worked in a different colorite and more in a grey tone.

From 1651 to 1656 Justus de Verwer was employed by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and travelled to the East Indies. Returning to the Netherlands he settled in Amsterdam.

In the left foreground of the painting a ‘pinas’, a small VOC three-master with approximately 20 pieces, is depicted and it is flying a pennant on the foremast. It was the smallest class of three-masted sea-ships of the same build and rig as the larger ships. They were used by the East India and West India Companies and although some of them were indeed very small they sailed to India and the Americas; Hudson’s ‘Half Moon’ being such a yacht. In the background we see the skyline of the city of Amsterdam with a lot of shipping activity on the IJ. In the middle a ‘wijtschip or ‘te lichter’ is depicted and on the right side a ‘Damloper.’