Located in Stoke, Hampshire
Johann c. van der Hagen (1676-c.1745)
A British Man O’War in distress on a rocky coast in a storm
Signed 'J. vanderhagen' lower right
Oil on canvas
Canvas size - 38 1/2 x 51 in
Framed size - 46 x 59 in
Provenance
The Collection the Most Hon. Marquis of Headfort at Headfort, Kells, Co. Meath;
His sale, Christie's, Important Old Master Paintings, 29 November 1968, Lot 28;
Private Collection, Oxfordshire
Johann C. van der Hagen was a Dutch-born marine and landscape painter whose atmospheric depictions of ships, storms, and coastal scenes earned him recognition in Britain and Ireland during the first half of the eighteenth century. Although relatively obscure today, he was among the group of continental artists who helped shape the development of maritime painting outside the Netherlands during the late Baroque period.
Born in The Hague in May 1676, van der Hagen trained within the strong Dutch tradition of marine painting that had flourished during the seventeenth century. Dutch artists of this era were internationally admired for their technical understanding of ships, changing weather conditions, and the dramatic effects of light upon water. Van der Hagen absorbed these influences early in his career, producing works characterised by animated seas, carefully observed rigging, and a keen sense of atmosphere.
At some point in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century, he moved to London, then one of Europe’s most important centres for maritime commerce and naval power. There he entered an artistic environment already shaped by celebrated Dutch émigré painters such as Willem van de Velde the Younger and his circle. Van der Hagen’s paintings reveal the influence of this Anglo-Dutch marine tradition, especially in his treatment of naval vessels and storm-driven seas. Contemporary records also suggest that his family became connected with artistic circles in London; one source notes that his daughter Bernada married the marine painter Cornelis van de Velde in 1699.
Van der Hagen later settled in Ireland, where he appears to have been active from the 1720s onward. Dublin became his principal base, though he travelled widely and worked in several parts of the country, particularly in the south. During this period he established a reputation as a painter of landscapes and especially sea-pieces, which were admired by patrons for their lively handling and dramatic composition. Irish sources describe him as talented but somewhat eccentric and indolent, producing work irregularly and often only when financial necessity compelled him to paint.
Among his documented activities was his employment in 1728 by the tapestry manufacturer Robert Baillie...
Category
18th Century Old Masters Landscape Paintings
