Veldes exhibition

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The Queen’s House has spent the first two months of the year closed to the public while it’s prepared to mount a major exhibition of maritime artworks by Dutch father-and-son artists the Van de Veldes. Arriving in the UK in 1672-73, following an invitation from King Charles II to set up a studio at the Queen’s House in Greenwich, Willem van de Velde the Elder and Willem van de Velde the Younger became the founders of English marine painting – later inspiring those we think of today, like J.M.W. Turner. Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) already owns the world’s largest collection of artworks by the Van de Veldes, but the exhibition is being described as a once-in-a-generation retrospective, with them all on show together.

Opening to the public on March 2, The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea is a chance to see the artists’ best-known artworks as well as pieces which haven’t been seen by the public in decades.

Holly O’Mahony spoke to Dr Allison Goudie, Curator of Art at Royal Museums Greenwich, to find out more…

Holly O’Mahony: With their work so heavily tied up with the Queen’s House, it’s no wonder you’re shining a light on the Van de Veldes. Why is the reopening of the Queen’s House the right time to mount an exhibition about its former resident artists?

Allison Goudie: This winter marks 350 years since the Van de Veldes moved to England from Amsterdam, so it seems like a fitting moment to reflect on this fascinating chapter in the history of the Queen’s House. We have also just completed two major conservation projects on two masterpieces from our Van de Velde collection: the Solebay Tapestry, and Van de Velde the Younger’s enormous painting ‘A Royal Visit to the Fleet’.

HOM: It’s incredible to think that the Van de Veldes were producing art at the Queen’s House 350 years ago. Has their work been exhibited much in London in the intervening centuries?

AG: No great collection of old master paintings is complete without a Van de Velde or two, so

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CeciliaMonaheng-Tufour 02088522442 5ElthamRoad LondonSE128ES examples of their work can be found in some of the capital’s finest museums, including the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection. However, this exhibition is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to see the full variety of the Van de Veldes’ work and discover the secrets of their creative process. This includes precious drawings which can only be displayed once every ten years due to their sensitivity to light, and of course the Solebay Tapestry and ‘Royal Visit to the Fleet’, which are on display for the first time in decades following painstaking conservation work.

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HOM: Why are the Van de Veldes’ artworks so important to maritime history?

AG: Not only did the Van de Veldes record maritime history in their art, but they truly lived it. Van de Velde the Elder sailed out with the Dutch and English fleets, sketching the actions he witnessed first hand. This was a major contributing factor to the Van de Veldes’ fame, giving their work a certain authenticity that was hard to match.

HOM: How did you go about borrowing and collating the artworks you’re showing in the exhibition?

AG: Royal Museums Greenwich has the world’s largest collection of works by the Van de Veldes, so we are ideally placed to tell their story, especially in combination with the site of their studio in the Queen’s House. The exhibition celebrates this unique collection, a large part of which is not normally on display, but we are also delighted to be able to display it alongside some outstanding loans from collections in both the UK and the Netherlands. www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/queens-house/ van-de-veldes-art-exhibition

HOM: Is there a painting, or paintings, you’re especially excited to have on display as part of the exhibition?

AG: It’s thrilling to see the monumental ‘Royal Visit to the Fleet’, together with its 17th-century silvered frame so beautifully conserved. It’s one of Van de Velde the Younger’s most ambitious works.

HOM: Is there one interesting fact or nugget of information about the Van de Veldes that you hope visitors take away with them?

AG: There are few collections that can tell us quite so much about how a 17th-century artist’s studio functioned as the Van de Velde collection at Royal Museums Greenwich. As innovators and tastemakers, there is so much more to their work than just ‘paintings of ships’!

The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea is showing at The Queen’s House, Romney Road, Greater, London SE10 9NF. Open from 2 March 2023, 10am - 5pm. Admission: FREE.