TSAR PETER THE GREAT ARRIVES IN A DUTCH BOEIER (A TYPE OF YACHT) OFF AMSTERDAM

backhuysen (3)
TSAR PETER THE GREAT ARRIVES IN A DUTCH BOEIER (A TYPE OF YACHT) OFF AMSTERDAM

Ludoft Backhuisen  (Dutch) 1631- 1708

Medium: Oil on Canvas

About the Work:

Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia, was the founder of the Russian Navy.  He visited Amsterdam in 1697 to study the Dutch shipbuilding industry and worked in an East India Company shipyard while he hired craftsmen for service in Russia.  He stands as he comes ashore in a Dutch Boeier, or inland vessel with round bow and stern. On the right is a windmill, ingeniously used by Dutch to harness the wind as power for their industries