Rocky coast

A rocky coast represented a departure from the flat, sandy beaches and calm estuaries that constituted the typical Dutch coastal environment, and de Vlieger's Rocky Coast of around 1650 suggests his interest in the drama available in more northern or foreign coastlines — possibly inspired by Flemish or Scandinavian seascape traditions. Rocky maritime subjects allowed painters to explore wave action, spray, and the collision of water with immovable stone that flat-beach scenes could not provide. De Vlieger's mature works show an increasing interest in atmospheric extremity — stormy conditions, dramatic light — that this subject naturally accommodated. The Rijksmuseum's collection provides the context of Dutch marine painting across its full range, from calm harbors to tempestuous open seas.

The rocky subject requires de Vlieger to develop his paint handling in directions his beach scenes did not demand — the physical mass of stone, the spray and foam of wave action, the turbulence of water meeting an immovable obstacle. Canvas rather than panel allows the larger gestures appropriate to this more dramatic subject matter.