With the Queen’s House’s exhibition The Van de Veldes: Greenwich, Art and the Sea set to close its doors this Sunday, January 14, the museum is throwing it a last hurrah in the form of a weekend-long festival with talks, art workshops, and tours.
Willem van de Velde the Elder and Willem van de Velde the Younger were Dutch father-and-son artists who specialised in maritime art.
Arriving in the UK in 1672-73, following an invitation from King Charles II to set up a studio at the Queen’s House in Greenwich, the Van de Veldes became the founders of English marine painting – later inspiring the likes of J.M.W. Turner.
Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG) already owns the world’s largest collection of artworks by the Van de Veldes, but the exhibition marked a once-in-a-generation retrospective, with them all on show together.
The exhibition marked 350 years since the Van de Veldes moved to England from Amsterdam, and the festival will provide a final opportunity to engage with the works of the Van de Veldes while they’re still on show locally.
Speaking to us about the festival, the Queen’s House General Manager Samuel Hindle said: “Both the public and our staff have thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and the team wanted to celebrate its end with a series of talks, tours and a drop-in drawing session.”
All events taking place in the festival are inspired by the Van de Veldes and the collection.
Highlights at the three day festival include an intimate art workshop (Saturday 13 at 11am and 2pm), in which the techniques adopted by the Van de Veldes to create maritime art are being explored; a talk on The Solebay Tapestry (Saturday 13 & Sunday 14, 11am & 2:45pm), and The Van de Veldes Highlights Tour (Friday 12, 3:45pm / Saturday 13 & Sunday 14, 3:15pm).
As for what to expect on the day, “Our front of house team will deliver informative tours of the exhibition, available for all ages, as well as [on] specific paintings that have inspired them,” Samuel explains, adding that there will be plenty of opportunities to ask questions along the way.
For children, in particular, “the drop-in drawing sessions will allow our younger visitors to explore techniques used by the marine artists.”
Samuel adds: “We hope visitors learn something about this interesting connection to the Queen’s House and Greenwich, and recognise the influence the Van de Veldes had on artists.”
The Van de Veldes Festival is taking place at the Queen’s House, Romney Road, London SE10 9NF.
January 12 – 14, 10:30am – 5pm.
Admission: FREE.
