Thomas Wijck (c. 1616 - 1677), An Italian Port Scene

Thomas Wijck
Dutch painter
Beverwijk circa 1616 - 1677 Haarlem
An Italianate harbour scene
Oil on canvas: 82.0 X 63.8 cm
Unsigned
Frame: 99.7 X 81.0 cm

Wijck stayed in Rome in the early 1640s. At his return from Italy he continued painting Italianate subjects. These Southern harbour views are generally dated circa 1660; in that year our painter moved for at least six years from Haarlem to London.

Our painting seems to be related to a signed work by Thomas Wijck from the Musée Fabre in Montpellier. In that composition one sees a Turkish pirate with his concubine, selling goods to a Jewish dealer, whose Dutch secretary is making a list of the numerous goods. That scene is set in Rome.

The three main figures in our painting, the sophisticated lady, the Blackamoor carrying her umbrella and the Jewish figure wearing a tall hat trimmed with fur, who is writing down the goods here himself, appear also in that completely different composition from the Musée Fabre. Even a similar tall jar (here in front of the seated Jew) appears in that composition. Finally, the Turkish figure that is identified in the Montpellier painting as a pirate, overlooks here in the left background the unloading of goods

All my paintings stand fully documented on my website:
https://www.jeanmoust.com/artists/portraits-genre-and-exterior-scenes/wijck-thomas-2026/an-italianate-harbour-scene-6446918