An English Ship with Sails Loosened Firing a Gun, by Peter Monamy
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
(image 2835 x 2301 pixels, 3.08MB)
This painting had been formerly attributed to Willem van de Velde the Younger, but in 1973 it was re-attributed to Peter Monamy, a British painter (1681-1749). While there are some of the later van de Velde works portraying a similar ship, the re-attribution of this painting had been reaffirmed several times by M.S. Robinson, the late Curator of Paintings in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, who is a renowned researcher of the van de Veldes’ legacy and the author of two comprehensive catalogs of their works. One of the obvious reasons behind the re-attribution is the fact that the ship flies what appears to be a Hanoverian Standard of George I, who ascended the throne of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714, seven years after the younger van de Velde had died. The white running horse of Hanover is clearly visible in the lower left corner of the banner.
I have seen a very similar painting titled Stern View of the Royal William Firing a Salute, which is signed by Peter Monamy. The stern decorations of the three-decker (also flying a Hanover Standard) are nearly identical to the ship in the former painting. Despite that the ship cannot be identified as the Royal William with all certainty, because she was laid up during the period when the painting was commissioned.
Stern View of the Royal William Firing a Salute, by Peter Monamy
(in private collection)
(image 1400 x 1135 pixels, 1.05MB)
Sources: #ptrmnmy#, a catalog entry of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY