Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Backhuysen, Ludolf

BACKHUYSEN, Ludolf, an eminent painter of the Dutch school, was born at Embden, in Hanover, in 1631, and died in 1709. He was brought up as a merchant at Amsterdam, but early discovered so strong a genius for painting that he relinquished business and devoted himself to art. He studied first under Everdingen and then under Dubbels, two eminent masters of the time, and soon became celebrated for his sea pieces. He was an ardent student of nature, and frequently exposed himself on the sea in an open boat in order to study the effects of tempests. His compositions, which are very numerous, are nearly all variations of one subject, and in a style peculiarly his own, marked by intense realism, or faithful imitation of nature. In his later years Backhuysen employed his time in etching and caligraphy. Several of his best pieces are in the gallery of the Louvre.