Among the thousands of Dutch who came to Britain in the 17th century – Charles II issued an open invitation to the population of the Netherlands after the so called Disaster Year of 1672 – were two painters, father and son, both called Willem van de Velde. The Dutch Republic may have been engaged in successive naval wars with England throughout the period (in which both Willem Senior and James, Duke of York, participated) but the two Willems were snapped up among the émigrés by Charles II.
Both were renowned marine painters, and Willem Senior had been an eye witness to several of the naval battles with the English which he commemorated in his work. So, when father and son came here, they were fêted by the court and installed in the Queen’s House at Greenwich. This new exhibition there celebrates their work, 350 years after their arrival.
