Hendrick Cornelisz. Vroom

H. C. Vroom was an important early marine artist who specialized in depicting very detailed naval battles and other historical scenes. Even after Vroom ceased producingi these paintings and drawings, his studio, which included his two sons, continued to create similar works. This image depicts a merchantman or frigate built around 1630-40 on the left and on the right a boat (Dutch word for a small utility craft). There are also images on the reverse, discovered in the process of removing the work from its mount for study; these were executed earlier. The sheet appears to have been trimmed to suit the drawing on the recto. The verso pictures sterns of boats from a slightly earlier time: a merchantman or frigate of 1620-30 and a "smalschip" (a coastal or river freighter). In 2000, research team from Brown compared the RISD drawing to two Vroom drawings in the Yale University Art Gallery's collection and became convinced that the RISD drawing contained enough characteristics of the Vroom family to be placed within their workshop.