Ludolf Backhuysen (or Bakhuizen) was a Dutch painter, born in Emden, Hanover.
Bakhuysen started his career as a bookkeeper. Working for a wealthy merchant in Amsterdam, he discovered so strong a genius for painting that he relinquished the business and devoted himself to art. He studied first under Allart van Everdingen and then under Hendrik Dubbels, two eminent masters of the time and soon became celebrated for his seascapes.

He was an ardent student of nature and frequently sailed n an open boat in order to study the effects of storms.  His compositions, which are numerous, are nearly all variations of one subject, the sea and in a style peculiarly his own, marked by intense realism and faithful imitation of nature. In his later years Backhuysen employed his skills in etching and calligraphy.