**early life and training** paulus van der velden, a dutch artist, was born on may 5, 1837, in rotterdam, netherlands. his parents were jacoba van essel and joannes van der velden, a warehouse manager. from a young age, petrus (also known as paulus) began drawing lessons, later enrolling at the rotterdam academy of fine arts and applied arts. he furthered his artistic training by traveling to germany, france, and italy. **artistic career in the netherlands and new zealand** van der velden's early work focused on marine studies, a quintessential dutch genre. as seen in snow on the sand dunes,…