The Van de Veldes at the Queen's House

In the Winter of 1672, two famous Dutch artists arrived in London. Willem van de Velde the Elder was famous for his extremely accurate drawings of ships and maritime life. And he himself went to sea, map in hand, to capture historic battle scenes. His son, Willem van de Velde the Younger, was also a celebrated painter. From tranquil coastal scenes to fierce storms, he immortalized countless ocean moods and lashing thunderstorms in his work. King Charles II offered them a studio space at the Queen's House in Greenwich where the two created magnificent paintings and tapestries, thousands of detailed sketches and drawings. 350 years after the first arrival in England of the Van de Veldes, considered the founders of English marine painting, inspiring generations of artists including J.M.W. Turner, the Queen's House becomes their home again thanks to the exhibition The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea. The National Maritime Museum of Greenwich, which holds the largest collection of Van de Veldes artwork in the world, give a trip to discover these emigrated artists and how they managed to change the course of British maritime art.