van de Velde (vän də vĕl´də), 17th-century Dutch family of artists. Jan van de Velde, 1593–1641, was a draftsman and engraver as well as a painter. His cousin Esaias van de Velde, c.1591–1630, a painter of genre and battle scenes, is best known for his clearly delineated landscapes. His Ferry Boat (Rijksmus.) is indicative of the trend Dutch landscape was soon to follow. Esaias's pupil Jan van Goyen was greatly influenced by his work. His brother Willem van de Velde, the elder, 1611–93, a marine painter, accompanied the Dutch fleet and depicted its victories over the English. He settled in England in 1672 and executed many works preserved at Hampton Court; he is also well represented in Amsterdam. He is thought to have worked often in collaboration with his son Willem van de Velde, the younger, 1633–1707, who was the most renowned marine painter of his day and is considered the father of English marine painting. Willem, the younger, was with his father in the fleet and in England and was commissioned by Charles II to portray naval engagements, being court painter from 1677. The National Maritime Museum in London has an important collection of his paintings. His brother, Adriaen van de Velde, 1636–72, was a landscape painter who showed a keen perception of the changes in light due to the season and the hour of the day. Most of his landscapes contain figures, and he often painted the figures in the landscapes of other painters, including his brother Willem, the younger, Hobbema, Ruisdael, his master Wynants, and Jan van der Heyden. Jan Jansz van de Velde, 1620–63, the son of Jan van de Velde, painted still lifes with fine, coloristic subtlety. His Still-life Study is in the National Gallery, London.

van de Velde: see Velde, van de.