EVERSDIJCK, Willem - b. ~1616 Goes, d. 1671 Middelburg

Dutch painter, the son of the painter Cornelis Eversdijck (c. 1580-c. 1644) and Francyntje Zagarus. He was first the pupil of his father, then in 1653 he is documented in Antwerp as the pupil of Cornelis de Vos. In 1653 he joined the Guild of St Luke in Middelburg, the city where he spent his entire career. He was a portraitist, several signed portraits of the members of his family are known from the 1660s. A group portrait in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam entitled Allegory of the Flowering of the Dutch Fishery is also attributed to him.

Allegory of the Flowering of the Dutch Fishery

Eversdijck painted an allegory of the flowering of the Dutch fishery after the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-67) with Dutch admirals, among the Michiel de Ruyter, hauling in the full nets. Admiral De Ruyter was the commander of the Dutch fleet which prevented the combined Anglo-French fleet from invading. He and other admirals became the heroes of the people.