Under a tall pale blue sky, with light shimmering through white clouds, a number of ships can be seen sailing in a fresh breeze. A small whale or dolphin is spouting water, in the foreground, amid the choppy waves. Above the low horizon, on the left, a stretch of land is just about visible through the moist atmosphere. On the right there is a kaag, or passenger boat, with several passengers and crew on board. The rigging and detail on the boat has been carefully executed. This vessel is ploughing the waves and, like the distant ships, which appear wrapped in the mist, its depiction displays a degree of naturalism that departs from Vroom’s other images (BHC0726). This naturalism is helped by the eye-level perspective and can be found, more obviously, in the work of the next generation of painters such as Jan van Goyen and Jan Porcellis.
