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Biography of Willem Hermansz van Diest (circa 1610–63)
Dutch marine painter active in The Hague. A record of a payment in 1634, received from the City council for a marine painting, indicates that van Diest was already an established artist by this time, although he is first recorded as a member of St Luke’s Guild and ‘a painter of ships’ in 1639. He was also a founding member of the ‘Pictura’ Brotherhood, established in 1656 by a group of artists opposed to the Guild of St Luke. Simon de Vlieger influenced his early paintings and has, therefore, been suggested as van Diest’s teacher, either in Rotterdam or Delft. The effect of van Diest’s storm and battle scenes is generally more dramatic. He recorded actions of the Dutch and English navies in the First Dutch War, such as the ‘Battle of Leghorn’ in 1653 (National Maritime Museum, London) and the ‘Battle of Scheveningen’, 31 July 1653 (Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool). ‘The Battle of the Sound’, 1658, between the Dutch and the Swedes is the subject of the painting in the Centraal Museum, Utrecht. He also painted ships in calms, beach and harbour scenes. His son Jeronimus was a marine painter in The Hague.
View paintings by Willem Hermansz van Diest
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