Painter and draughtsman Jan (Johannes) Frederik Schütz was born in Middleburg, Zeeland, the Netherlands, in 1817. Though interested in art from an early age, he planned on becoming a sailor and entered the profession as a youth. However, increasing hearing difficulties by the time he turned twenty meant must change careers. He entered his work for consideration at the Middleburgse Tekenacademie and was accepted in 1839. He went on to build a successful career as both an artist and a teacher, known especially for his dramatic nautical imagery and renderings of ships. He died in Middleburg on February 27, 1888.

Schütz's work is held in the Kunstcollectie Provincie Gelderland (Gelderland Province Art Collective), Rijksmuseum and the Het Scheepwaartmuseum (Maritime Museum) in Amsterdam, and galleries and private collections throughout the world.