Who painted Seashore with a High Sea?

Seashore with a High Sea was painted by Magdalena van de Passe in 1620.

Where can I see Seashore with a High Sea?

Seashore with a High Sea is held by Cleveland Museum of Art.

What movement is Seashore with a High Sea?

Seashore with a High Sea is associated with Baroque.

Artwork

Seashore with a High Sea

Magdalena van de Passe , 1620

Seashore with a High Sea is a print by the Baroque artist Magdalena van de Passe. It dates from 1620 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

About this work

Overview

Magdalena van de Passe was one of the few women in early 17th-century Europe to establish a professional reputation as a printmaker.

Magdalena van de Passe was one of the few women in early 17th-century Europe to establish a professional reputation as a printmaker. Her engraving Seashore with a High Sea adapts a coastal composition by Adam Willaerts, a fellow Utrecht artist, but transforms it through the addition of a biblical narrative. The work stands out for its technical precision and the rarity of female authorship in printmaking at the time.

Subject & Meaning

Van de Passe inserted the prophet Elijah into Willaerts’s naturalistic seascape, depicting him emerging from a cave as described in 1 Kings 17–19. Below the scene, engraved passages from the text reinforce the moment of divine revelation in the wind. This fusion of landscape and scripture invites contemplation of solitude and spiritual listening, aligning the wild coast with a moment of sacred encounter.

Technique & Style

Her engraving technique employs fine, irregular lines that mimic the texture of weathered rock and churning water. The delicate, closely spaced marks capture the turbulence of the sea and the ruggedness of the shore, while the tiny figure of Elijah is rendered with subtle clarity. This meticulous approach enhances the atmospheric tension without overwhelming the composition’s naturalism.

History & Provenance

Created in the 1620s or 1630s, the print reflects van de Passe’s active career in Utrecht, where she worked alongside male relatives in the family’s printmaking workshop. Few of her prints survive, and this one is particularly uncommon due to its combination of landscape and religious narrative. Its survival underscores her recognition during her lifetime, despite the gendered constraints of the profession.

Context

In early modern Europe, printmaking was dominated by male artists and guild members. Van de Passe’s access to training and distribution networks was unusual for a woman. Her ability to adapt a painting by a known artist and infuse it with theological meaning suggests both technical skill and cultural literacy, positioning her within broader artistic and religious discourses of the Dutch Republic.

Legacy

Van de Passe’s work remains a rare example of a woman’s contribution to Northern European printmaking before the 18th century. Her integration of narrative into landscape influenced later interpretations of nature as a site of spiritual significance. Though not widely studied until recently, her prints are now recognized for their technical refinement and quiet innovation.