A Fleet at Sea

Sea and Coast, 1614

The painting depicts a seascape from an elevated perspective, showing a low horizon line with large ships sailing on the water. In the center is the largest ship, with four sails and several colorful flags, including one with horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, and one large golden flag with a red animal that looks like a lion. Countless small people are on the deck of this boat, with some climbing ropes to get to the different sails. In the background are other ships, with a few smaller sailboats and one rowboat. On the horizon are the indistinct blue outlines of buildings on a far-off coastline. The ocean is rough, with large, dark blue waves topped with white surf. The sky is dark and stormy, with dark gray clouds at the top fading to a lighter gray near the horizon.
Artist
Sea and Coast
Date
1614
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
56.5 × 97.1 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

The painting depicts a seascape from an elevated perspective, showing a low horizon line with large ships sailing on the water. In the center is the largest ship, with four sails and several colorful flags, including one with horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue, and one large golden flag with a red animal that looks like a lion. Countless small people are on the deck of this boat, with some climbing ropes to get to the different sails. In the background are other ships, with a few smaller sailboats and one rowboat. On the horizon are the indistinct blue outlines of buildings on a far-off coastline. The ocean is rough, with large, dark blue waves topped with white surf. The sky is dark and stormy, with dark gray clouds at the top fading to a lighter gray near the horizon.

Sea and Coast