Artists

Backhuyzen was one of the most important marine painters of his time. He came to Amsterdam as a clerk, and studied painting with Allaert Van Everdigen and Hendrik Dubbel. Unlike his contemporaries, topographic exactitude, precise rendering of detail, or the dichotomy between human works and the forces of nature did not interest him. He was more concerned with bizarre elements and independent forms of expression. Along with the use of strong light and dark zones, this allowed him to achieve a feeling of alienation that anticipates tendencies in Romantic painting. His works include The Roads of Amsterdam,1668 Musee du Louvre, Paris; and the Mussel Pier Near Amsterdam,1673, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam