Pieter Cornelisz van Soest (born c. 1600–1620, flourished c. 1640–67) was a Dutch

marine art Marine art or maritime art is a form of figurative art (that is, painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture) that portrays or draws its main inspiration from the sea. Maritime painting is a genre that depicts ships and the sea—a genre parti ...

ist, especially prolific in battle-pieces.

Biography

Little is known about him. He was the son of Cornelis Pietersz van Soest,Pieter Cornelis van Soest
at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

''ECARTICO'' website and in 1642 he became

Poorter Poorter () is an historical term for a type of Dutch, or Flemish, burgher who had acquired the right to live within the walls of a city with city rights. In the Dutch Republic, this ''poorterrecht'' or ''poorterschap'' (citizenship) could be ...

of Amsterdam where he was recorded until 1667. In April 1643, as a painter living on the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, he married Marritie Dircx (born ca. 1620 in

Goch Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog, Dutch: Gogh) is a town in the district of Kleve, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated close to the border with the Siebengewald in Netherlands, approx. south of Kleve, and southeast of Nijmegen. Hi ...

Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten (bapt. 1 March 1622 in Amsterdam – buried in July 1666 in Amsterdam?) was a Dutch painter of marine art and landscapes, particularly of events of the First Anglo-Dutch War and Dutch-Swedish War. Biography There i ...

was one of his pupils. Among his subjects are the

Battle of the Downs The Battle of the Downs took place on 21 October 1639 (New Style), during the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, was decisively defeated by a Dutch force under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. Vict ...

and the

Second Anglo-Dutch War The Second Anglo-Dutch War or the Second Dutch War (4 March 1665 – 31 July 1667; nl, Tweede Engelse Oorlog "Second English War") was a conflict between England and the Dutch Republic partly for control over the seas and trade routes, whe ...

, particularly the

Raid on the Medway The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At t ...

. Van Soest also depicted the ships ''Comet Star'' and ''Eendracht''. His paintings usually have a panoramic view of the battles. Van Soest rendered ships with delicate brushstrokes, while a light

impasto ''Impasto'' is a technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface thickly, usually thick enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provide ...

is a feature of his skies.Biography of Pieter Cornelisz van Soest
National Maritime Museum

Notes

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Painters from Amsterdam Dutch Golden Age painters Dutch male painters Dutch marine artists Year of birth uncertain {{Netherlands-painter-stub