The German painter Heinrich Wilhelm Petersen, who for practical reasons added Angeln to his surname around 1882, was one of Dusseldorf's renowned marine painters. Under the guidance of his teacher Eugen Dücker, he developed an oeuvre consisting of calm, moody coastal landscapes in morning or evening light, for which he drew inspiration from around the Baltic Sea. In the early eighties he joined the group of German painters who traveled to the Dutch coast for motifs. In 1882-1883 and in 1886 he worked for a long time in Vlissingen. A second Dutch period came in the early nineties when he settled in Egmond aan Zee. During this period, the theme of selling fish on the beach surfaced for the first time.