Artwork
The Cannon Shot
The Cannon Shot is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Willem van de Velde the Younger. It dates from 1690 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created around 1680, this oil on canvas depicts a Dutch warship discharging a ceremonial gun salute.
About this work
This painting shows a Dutch navy ship firing a salute. Willem van de Velde the Younger painted it around 1680. He used oil on canvas.
It was made after he moved to England in the 1670s. His father worked as a court painter too. Both father and son painted many sea scenes.
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Overview
Created around 1680, this oil on canvas depicts a Dutch warship discharging a ceremonial gun salute. The work belongs to the marine oeuvre of Willem van de Velde the Younger, a specialist in naval subjects whose meticulous rendering captures the momentary flash of cannon fire against a calm sea.
Subject & Meaning
The central focus is a single Dutch vessel, its gun crews poised to honor a dignitary or fleet commander through the traditional salute. The scene conveys both the disciplined might of the Dutch navy and the ritualized pageantry of 17th‑century maritime power, emphasizing order and national pride.
Technique & Style
Van de Velde employs a restrained palette of muted blues, grays, and ochres, allowing the bright muzzle flash to dominate the composition. His handling of oil paint renders fine details—rigging, hull planking, and the billowing smoke—while maintaining a clear, almost documentary perspective typical of his English court commissions.
History & Provenance
The painting was executed after van de Velde the Younger settled in England in the early 1670s, where he succeeded his father as court painter to Charles II. It forms a pair with The Gust of Wind, another marine work from the same period, reflecting the artist’s continued engagement with Dutch naval subjects despite his relocation.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Willem van de Velde the Younger
Willem van de Velde the Younger (18 December 1633 (baptised) – 6 April 1707) was a Dutch painter who specialised in marine art.
English Warship Firing a Salute
Entrance to a Dutch Port
Ships in a calm
A Ship on the High Seas Caught by a Squall, Known as ‘The Gust’
Encounter during the Battle of Kijkduin
The skirmish of Michiel Adriaensz de Ruyter against the duke of York, commanding the 'Royal Prince'during the Battle of Solebay, 7 June 1672: episode from the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-74)
Captured English Ships after the Four Days’ Battle
Ships off the coast
