Abraham Storck
(Amsterdam 1644 – ibid 1708)
Abraham Storck was a painter of the 17th century, his exact dates of birth and death are not known, only his baptism on April 17, 1644 in the Amsterdam Noorderkerk and his burial on April 8, 1708 in the Sint Anthoniskerkhof in Amsterdam are documented.
Abraham Storck's father came from the Wesel and was the fine painter Jan Jansen Sturck (in documents he called himself both Sturck and Sturckenburch), his mother was Teuntje Jacobs from Amsterdam. In addition to Abraham, the parents had two other sons, Johannes, baptized in 1629, and Jacob, baptized in 1641. Little is known about Jacob, but Johannes married the marine painter Jan Abrahamszoon Beerstraten (1622-1666), which intensified the close relationship that already existed between the two families.
Abraham Storck, also called Sturckenburgh in some documents, is mentioned in 1688 as a member of the highly respected St. Lucas Guild. In 1694 he married Neeltje Pieters Meyservelt, who brought children from a previous marriage.
Storck had specialized in marine painting, such as depicting Dutch seaports. In his biography of Dutch artists, Arnold Houbraken (1660-1719) describes Abraham Storck as a painter of "rough and calm seas, ships, busy harbours, boats and other vessels filled with soldiers and sailors, chests and other goods".
There are also numerous imaginative views of Mediterranean ports in his oeuvre, although journeys to Italy cannot be proven. There are also dramatic depictions of whaling scenes and the visit of Tsar Peter I (the Great) to Holland.
The models for Abraham Storck's Italian ports and buildings can be found in contemporary prints - a connection can also be made here with Beerstraten, who also painted "Italian" views. In terms of naval history, alongside regional ship types, large Dutch ships often determine the depictions in both the Mediterranean-style images and the Dutch views.
A well-known work in Abraham Storck's oeuvre is the depiction of the Four Days Battle (one of the numerous naval engagements between the Netherlands and England during the Second Anglo-Dutch War 1665-67) and is also the most well-known work for this historical event. In terms of numbers, however, this is the smallest subject in Storck's work; in addition to the four-day battle, only individual depictions of the naval battle off Texel in 1673 and La Hougue in 1693 are known.
By the end of the 17th century whaling had become a major business for all of Europe and the subject was taken up by artists including Abraham Storck. In this context, dramatic scenes enlivened with snarling polar bears emerged.
When Tsar Peter the Great visited Holland, he himself took part in building a ship at the East India Company shipyard. After this became known, the tsar continued to work in a shipyard shielded from the public. The ship was named "Pieter en Paul" in honor of the tsar and was depicted from all sides in several paintings, which are also the only pictorial sources of the ship. During the Tsar's stay in Amsterdam, a mock battle was initiated by several small ships, which was also documented in paintings.
Storck continued the artistic tradition of the work of Ludolf Backhuyzen (1630-1708). Abraham Storck's paintings are characterized by the exact reproduction of ships and buildings, as well as a special coloring - with strong colors, especially in the case of figures and flags, he set clear accents in his overall tonal paintings.