Bidspirit auction | [Professor of Painting at the

[Professor of Painting at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts] Vilhelm Melbye, Rescue of a Ship off a Rocky Coast. Denmark. 1866–1882. Canvas on stretcher, oil. The work has museum and antique‑collectors’ value; expert examination by the Grabar All‑Russian Art Research and Restoration Centre, report No. 112 EK‑124‑26 dated 8 April 2026. Dimensions: 43 × 68.3 cm. Signature: in the lower left corner there are traces of a signature in red paint, in an illegible state. In the lower right corner there are traces of a later inscription in red paint (presumably “Mu…8”). Condition: very good, with minor signs of age and use. The painting presents a monumental marine landscape capturing the dramatic moment of a ship’s crew being rescued off a rugged rocky shoreline. The work is a characteristic example of Vilhelm Melbye’s mature period: the composition reveals the artist’s attachment to the traditions of European Romanticism, with a masterly rendering of the stormy sea’s dynamics and the complex play of light on the crests of the waves. The depicted coastline finds direct analogies in the artist’s oeuvre, in particular in his views of the Kullaberg (Kullen) peninsula in Sweden. Vilhelm Melbye (1824–1882) was an outstanding Danish marine painter, professor and member of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, and a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog . His talent was recognised throughout Europe: Melbye successfully exhibited at major exhibitions in London, Paris and Düsseldorf, and his works entered the private collections of Queen Victoria and the Danish monarchs. - Today, works by Vilhelm Melbye are held in the collections of leading institutions worldwide, including: - Statens Museum for Kunst (Copenhagen); - Victoria and Albert Museum (London); - The Royal Collection of the United Kingdom (Royal Collection Trust); - Gothenburg Museum of Art; National Gallery of Canada.