The Arrival of the Kattendijk at Texel, 22 July 1702, Ludolf Bakhuizen (1702)
The Kattendijk was a 759-tonne ship of the Dutch East India fleet, built at Zeeland in 1694 and here identified by name on the stern of the largest ship. on 28 November 1701 she left Batavia with 90 sailors and 25 soldiers. After rounding the Cape of Good Hope in February 1702, she returned in a fleet of 19 ships, including the Sion, seen to the left. The vessels are depicted on the Marsdiep, a silt-free channel between the Dutch mainland and the Island of Texel. For all the choppy water, the ships dominate the sea and constitute a display of Dutch naval strength. This work was painted not long after the event took place.
