Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman (1623/24 – Amsterdam – 1664)

A Dutch Harbor Scene

oil on canvas
17 ⅞ x 23 ⅝ inches (45.4 x 59.8 cm.)

Provenance:
Private collection, The Netherlands


Zeeman’s primary interest as a painter was in ships, which he rendered with great accuracy according to type and function, and the activities that surrounded them. Merchantmen in the Amsterdam harbor, surrounded by smaller craft, such as lighters, sailboats and rowboats, filled with curious passengers, was a favorite subject of the artist. He also painted a number of naval battles.  In the 1650s and 1660s Zeeman represented many of the gates, canals, locks and landmarks in Amsterdam. Today his numerous views of the busy Amsterdam harbor and other topographical sites are prized for their historical information, as well as for their pictorial qualities. Zeeman also made numerous depictions of Paris, and Mediterranean and North African ports, which may indicate that he traveled extensively. In fact, the artist sometimes signed his works with his nickname, Zeeman (Seaman); no doubt to indicate that he was or had been a professional sailor. While on home ground the artist appears to have led a rather dissipated life. In 1656 his wife, Maria Zeeman, testified that her husband frequented brothels, often returning home at two and three o’clock at night. Specifically she mentions the ‘notorious brothel of old widow Spillebouts and her two daughters on the corner of the Heysteegh on the Achter Burghwal, for she, Maria Zeeman, had stood in the street and looked in through the window’.

Zeeman also produced a large oeuvre of etchings and drawings that illustrate various types of ships and topographical views.  In 1650 he made a series entitled Receuil de plusieurs Navires et Paisages faits après le naturel par R. Zeeman 1650, in 1652 another called Quelque navieres desseigner & graver par Remij Zeeman, and in 1656, Quelque port de mer faits par R.N. Zeeman, Amsterdam A° 1656. His numerous views of Paris and it surroundings would suggest that Zeeman visited the city, presumably before starting on the first series in 1650.  Today the artist is generally known as Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman, although the name Nooms is nowhere on record.  As stated above, he signed some of his prints using the name R.N. Zeeman

One of Zeeman’s favorite subjects was a ship undergoing repairs, either careened on a beach for caulking and tarring or seen just offshore with floats attached. In the present painting a ship has been careened so that its sides are exposed. Workmen on rafts are caulking their hulls, creating dense clouds of smoke. The procedure involved driving oakum into the seams of the ship’s sides and then sealing the gaps between the timbers with hot pitch. This type of work evidently appealed to Zeeman, as he depicted it in several etching (see, for example, Reinier Zeeman, Caulking, etching 81 x 178 mm.; Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen).