Ships in a Stiff Breeze
by BACKHUYSEN, Ludolf, Oil on canvas, 45 x 62 cm
In this balanced composition we see to the right a kaag (a coastal transport vessel). At the extreme left is a fluyt, the most successful trading vessel. Beyond the heavily armed two-decker warship in the centre is a wijdschip, and in the foreground, animated by a standing seaman and in the process of heading downwind, is a weyschuit.