During the night of 4–5
March 1651, Saint Anthony’s Dike was breached near Amsterdam.
Asselijn depicts the violent surge of water with striking intensity,
infusing the scene with a powerful, almost theatrical energy. The
figure on the left, his cloak whipped into a frenzy by the wind,
immediately draws the viewer’s gaze amid the turmoil, signalling
that the storm is not yet over—even as the squalls begin to move on
at the right. The vivid red of the cloak contrasts sharply with the
calm blue sky on the left and the massive dark cloudbank engulfing
the sky on the right, heightening the sense of imminent danger and
human vulnerability. The breach was a major event: powerful
north-westerly winds caused the dike to collapse, inundating the
low-lying polders and affecting areas near Amsterdam. Floodwaters
rose so high that boats could be seen navigating the city’s streets.
