Notes

As Abrahams palet usually is more colourful, this collaboration between father and son is mainly by the hand of Adam and can be dated between 1630 and 1640.

We see a small beach with various activities such as fish selling, searching for shells and repairing ships, or enjoying beach leasure. A rare element in the painting is the dismantling of a small boat, in a meticulous manner, probably in order to be able to recycle materials; for instance for building houses. The large Man-of war to the right has been anchored, for the rigging to be inspected and repaired. The small boat in front functions as a ferry to and from the coast. In these years, the painterly quality of the cloudy skies is exceptional within the Willaerts studio.

Central in the image we see a comic element in the ‘poephuisje’ (public latrine), is positioned in such a manner that secretion is bound to end up in the sea, a semi-clean thought and probably intended as a little joke on the side by the artist.