Figures on Board Small Merchant Vessels Gm-00021901

Willem van de Velde the Elder (Dutch, 1611–1693) In this harbor scene, small craft loaded with barrels of supplies hover around a large vessel as men lift various goods on board. Using ropes, four men try to prepare a load to be taken onto the ship. Three men in broad-brimmed hats stand supervising on the left, while other sailors await the goods or attend to other vessels.

Using brown ink, Willem van de Velde the Elder outlined the boats and gave definition to ropes and shipping tackle. In contrast, he used a blue-gray wash to give volume and depth, using only a few simple strokes to suggest the folds of the sails. Building up the human figures by blending wash and ink, he made quick, sure lines that evoke each gesture and costume without many specific details. As the official artist for the Dutch fleet for many years, van de Velde often recorded such scenes of the bustling activity of marine life. Someone extensively incised the drawing for transfer, even down to the fine details, but no related copy is known today.

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com or call/text +41 79 265 8891.

Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.