Ta group of sailors huddle, in a cave, beneath a rugged cliff. Torrential rain falls diagonally from the thick black clouds which hover menacingly above. A smooth, flat sea is rendered in silvery-grey tones. While darker areas suggest the shadows of the boats. Additionally, pale brown and green areas in the shallows hint at the emergence of rocks from beneath the surface of the water. The sailors, on the left, are composed into a tight group. Interactions between them are intimated by facial expressions and physical gestures. They are variously occupied. On the far left one drinks from a barrel. Next to him a man huddles wrapped in a shawl. While other figures stand nearby or are seated. They are accompanied by a small dog on the right. One of the seated figures is looking out towards a sailor, who remains on one of the boats. He, in turn, looks over towards the sheltering group. Their boats, with sails lowered and furled, are anchored in the shallow water. While, previously, the figures have been interpreted as smugglers sheltering from a storm, a more convincing reading suggests that they are in fact fishermen. Their humble appearance lends to the idea that peeters’s intention was to portray them as quasi-heroic figures, happily living an idealized, rural existence. Object Type: painting. Date: 1640s. Dimensions: height: 33.2 cm (13 in); width: 45.7 cm (17.9 in). Medium: oil on oak wood. Collection: National Maritime Museum. Bonaventura Peeters (I) - Seascape with Sailors Sheltering from a Rainstorm
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