Jan de Momper, a landscape and marine painter, became master in the Antwerp guild of St. Luke around 1635/36. From 1662 to 1668, he worked in Rome for Cardinal Flavio Chigi and the Doria-Pamphilj family. He was a member of the Bentvuegheles, who dubbed him “Eervucht”. He was married to Agnés Visen and had a son Francesco who died in Rome in 1664. In 1667, he was recorded as a friend of V.Adriaenssen (Malo). In 1668 he painted a large canvas in imitation of tapestry for his patron Cardinal Chigi. Jan de Momper’s works were influenced by Neapolitan painting and landscape drawings of Guercino and also by the Dutch school (Jan van Goyen) rather than the Flemish school. His painting is predominantly outlined and his brushstrokes very determinate. Surprisingly, his works were previously mistaken for those of Fr. Goya and Joos de Momper II.This painting, “Fishermen along the coast”, reveals many similarities in style and morphologically with another work by J. de Momper “River landscape” (Florence, Galleria degli Uffizi) signed on the stretcher.
“Monsu X” in this work expresses a robust pictorial energy; the nervous brushstroke creates a dramatic atmosphere that projects the observer in midst of the scene, being involved in the weariness of the fishermen. The choice of the palette is nearer to a Dutch influence rather than Flemish.