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The 6 Most Famous Hendrick Staets Paintings, a Gallery Selection
Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 6 works by Hendrick Staets in our catalogue
In short
Of all the originals Hendrick Staets left, the most famous is Ship on a Stormy Sea (1645), in the collection of the Het Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam. Close behind it come The Departure of an East Indiaman (1642) and Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Shore (1655). Our catalog holds 6 works by Hendrick Staets; the gallery has kept the 6 the world admires most, each shown with its date, its museum and its story.
1606 – 1659, Haarlem
Most works: National Maritime Museum
Hendrick Staets's top 10 paintings: the gallery's choice
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The museums that keep Hendrick Staets's originals
The 2 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Hendrick Staets | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 National Maritime Museum |
London | 4 | The Departure of an East Indiaman, Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Shore, Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Coast |
 Het Scheepvaartmuseum |
Amsterdam | 2 | Ship on a Stormy Sea, A Herring Buss and a Merchantman in Stormy Weather at Sea |
Hendrick Staets year by year: the originals that define each
The selection follows Hendrick Staets over 14 years, from 1642 to 1655, keeping the finest originals of each year.
Works per year
Pick a year to see its originals.
Collectors' questions about Hendrick Staets's paintings
Which work is Hendrick Staets most famous for?Reveal the answer
Ship on a Stormy Sea (1645), Het Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam. The Departure of an East Indiaman (1642) and Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Shore (1655) come next.
What age was Hendrick Staets when Ship on a Stormy Sea was made?Reveal the answer
39 years old: Ship on a Stormy Sea dates from 1645, and Hendrick Staets was born in 1606.
How many paintings did Hendrick Staets leave?Reveal the answer
Our catalog holds 6 works by Hendrick Staets, dated from 1642 to 1655.
In which museums do Hendrick Staets's masterpieces hang?Reveal the answer
Mostly in National Maritime Museum (London) and Het Scheepvaartmuseum (Amsterdam). The museum table above lists them all.
What are the first and the last famous originals of Hendrick Staets?Reveal the answer
On this page, the earliest is The Departure of an East Indiaman (1642) and the latest Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Shore (1655).
Which Hendrick Staets works hang at the National Maritime Museum?Reveal the answer
The Departure of an East Indiaman, Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Shore and Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Coast: the National Maritime Museum, London holds 4 of the works on this page.
Hendrick Staets: life and work
Life and Activity of Hendrick Staets
Hendrick Staets was a painter whose life was tied to the Dutch maritime landscape. He was born in Haarlem in 1606. His presence in the art world is marked by a period of activity that spanned several decades, with records showing him active from 1626 to 1659. Some accounts suggest his most consistent period of work occurred between c.1630 and 1660.
His movements took him through the significant centers of the Netherlands. After his early years in Haarlem, his life eventually led him to Leiden, where he died in 1659. He spent his years observing the sea and the vessels that navigated it, focusing his attention on the mechanics of ships and the movement of water.
Notable Maritime Paintings and Works
The works of Hendrick Staets often focus on the precarious relationship between wooden hulls and the heavy movement of the sea. In 1642, he painted The Departure of an East Indiaman, a scene that captures a vessel beginning its transit. By 1645, his focus shifted toward the violence of the elements in Ship on a Stormy Sea. These early pieces show a steady interest in how ships navigate the water, whether in transit or under duress.
Many of his compositions utilize oil on panel to depict the struggle of sailors against the tide. One such work, A Dutch Ship Foundering off a Rocky Coast, shows a vessel in distress near a jagged shoreline. A similar scene is found in A Dutch merchant and other ships in a gale off a rocky coast, castaways in the foreground, where the scale of the ships is set against the chaos of a storm. In these paintings, the presence of castaways adds a human weight to the maritime struggle.
The later years of his known output include Ships Wrecked on a Rocky Shore, dated 1655. This work, along with other depictions of vessels caught in heavy weather, shows a recurring preoccupation with the moment a ship meets a rocky coast. Whether depicting a merchantman in a gale or a ship foundering in the surf, the focus remains on the physical reality of the sea and the ships that attempt to cross it.