Pieter Beeldsnijder passed away on 21 March at the age of 78. He designed more than 2,500 vessels during a career that spanned more than 50 years.
Beeldsnijder entered the yachting industry in 1957 after taking a job at the shipyard of G. De Vries Lentsch, Jr. «His first project was a 15 meter sailing yacht» (De GroeneDraeck) that was presented to the Dutch Princess Beatrix on her 18th birthday. In 1979 Peter Beeldsneider established his own design studio. The studio collaborates with leading Dutch shipyards including Royal Huisman, Jongert, Hakvoort and Bloemsma Van Breemen.
The designer has created more than 20 sailing superyachts for Royal Huisman. The most famous of them are Hanuman, Ethereal, Athena and Hyperion. Pieter Beeldsnijder also designed motor boats. His largest projects were Feadship Mylin IV and Kingship Princess K.
The common thread running through all of Beeldsnijder's designs is their desire for simplicity and elegance. He wrote on his website:
«A new yacht is a lot like a big building. It has to be functional and efficient. It should be devoid of any parts that could complicate operation, no extraneous elements that would interfere with the enjoyment of the process. Keeping this mindset in mind, I realize that I find it easiest to transform functionality and efficiency directly into beauty and quality. I only use superior materials that don't have to be fiddled with long enough to reveal their intrinsic power and aesthetic value».
Peter Beeldsneider's design studio is currently working on several projects, including the J-class sailing ship Svea.
