Vessels in Light Airs on a River near a Town

This 1650 National Gallery canvas belongs to Van de Cappelle's early period, when he was establishing the compositional formulas that would serve him throughout his career. Vessels in light airs — wind barely strong enough to fill sails — occupied a middle ground between the absolute calm he preferred and the active marine subject that other painters favored. Light air subjects required careful attention to how partly filled sails behaved: neither taut nor slack, but softly billowing, creating organic curves in the canvas. The National Gallery's three Van de Cappelle paintings allow direct comparison of how his approach evolved over the fifteen years between his earliest and most mature surviving works.

Partly filled sails present a distinct challenge — their curves are neither the taut geometry of a sailing vessel under full wind nor the loose folds of slack canvas. Van de Cappelle models them with soft transitions from highlight to shadow that preserve the sense of gentle air pressure from within.