CANNON FIRED (HET KANONSCHOT)

By Willem van de Velde, the Younger, 1707

(Rijkmuseum Amsterdam)

A warship in calm waters fires a cannon. Two boats are on the either side of the ship. Another warship is seen in the distance.

A DUTCH FLAGSHIP COMING TO ANCHOR WITH A STATES YACHT BEFORE A LIGHT AIR

By Willem van de Velde, the Younger, 1658

An early painting by the artist before he had developed his own artistic style of ship portrayal. In the left foreground is a States yacht, in starboard-quarter view, running towards the flagship under a white sprit-sail and a brown square sail boomed out to port. She is thought to be the yacht laid down for Prince Frederik Hendrik but completed after his death in 1647 for Willem II. A date inscribed in the cartouche above the rudderhead is understood to be the date of the picture although only ‘165?’ can now be clearly read. She bears the arms of Orange and lion supporters on the stern, and Dutch colours at the peak, stern and dipped on a staff at the masthead. Two trumpeters positioned in the stern face towards the right as they play their instruments. The yacht is towing a boat with two men in it.

In the left middle distance is a ship at anchor, in port-quarter view, believed from her stern decoration to be the ‘Huis te Zwieten’, built in 1653. She shows the arms of Amsterdam above the rudder as well as crossed anchors to either side of it, signifying the Admiralty, and flies a Dutch flag at the fore and also as an ensign. In the left background are two ships under sail, close-hauled on the starboard tack. Other ships and vessels lie in the distance. To the right a large ship in port-bow view is under way close-hauled on the starboard tack and firing a forward gun to starboard. This is probably the ‘Eendracht’, 76 guns, built in 1653, with a prominent turret on her quarter gallery and lion supporters just visible on the taffrail. This was the flagship of Lieutenant-Admiral J. van Wassenaer who assembled the fleet that was to sail to the Baltic in October 1658. She flies a Dutch flag at the main, a plain red ensign and a striped jack, red white and blue. Men are visible on the main topsail yard preparing to furl the sail.

Pulling to the right in the centre foreground is a ship’s boat with four oars a side, four distinguished people seated aft and a trumpeter standing forward. A figure standing in the stern is gesturing towards the notable men in the boat. Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, promoted Vice-Admiral of Holland and Westfriesland in November 1653, flew his flag in the ‘Huis te Zwieten’ on convoy duty to the Mediterranean and back in 1654.

On 27 May 1658, at the time Wassenaer was assembling his Baltic squadron in the Texel, he once more sailed in her with a squadron for Portugal, and again in May 1659 when he led reinforcements to Wassenaer in Denmark. Assuming that the flag at the foremast of the ‘Huis te Zwieten’ signifies de Ruyter’s substantive rank of vice-admiral, the conjunction shown in the picture may therefore commemorate the scene in the Texel in the spring of 1658.

The artist was the younger son of Willem van de Velde the Elder. Born in Leiden, he studied under Simon de Vlieger in Weesp and in 1652 moved back to Amsterdam. He worked in his father’s studio and developed the skill of carefully drawing ships in tranquil settings. He changed his subject matter, however, when he came with his father to England in 1672-73, by a greater concentration on royal yachts, men-of-war and storm scenes. From this time painting sea battles for Charles II and his brother (and Lord High Admiral) James, Duke of York, and other patrons, became a priority. Unlike his father’s works, however, they were not usually eyewitness accounts. After his father’s death in 1693 his continuing role as an official marine painter obliged him to be more frequently present at significant maritime events. The painting is signed lower right ‘W.V.Velde’ and is unclearly dated to the 1650s as already noted.

THE BATTLE OF THE FIRST OF JUNE, 1794

by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, 1795

‘Lord Howe’s action, or the Glorious First of June’ (its original title) is an interpretation of the first major fleet battle of the French Revolutionary War, 1793-1801. The French admiral, Rear-Admiral Louis-Thomas Villaret-Joyeuse, had sailed from Brest to intercept a valuable grain fleet from America, vitally needed in famine-stricken France. The English commander-in-chief, Lord Howe, sailed with the Channel Fleet to intercept the convoy, which neither side in fact encountered and which reached Brest in safety. Instead the two battle fleets made contact on 28 May, some 365 nautical miles (673 km) off Ushant, Brittany.

In the opening engagement Howe disabled the three-decker ‘Révolutionnaire‘, 110 guns. On 29 May he cut the French line to leeward and for the next two days the fleets manoeuvred in fog and out of contact until Howe brought the French to full action and defeat on 1 June approximately 225 nautical miles (416 km) further west. Six French ships of the line were taken and one sunk.

Using man’s heroic struggle against the sea itself to enhance the conflict of the opposing fleets, the artist’s response is in the Romantic tradition, depicting both the dramatic and human nature of the event. There are several main themes, the duel between the opposing flagships ‘Queen Charlotte’ (Howe) and the ‘Montagne’ (Villaret-Joyeuse); the sinking of the ‘Vengeur du Peuple’, 74 guns, and the attempts to rescue her crew, with French sailors in the right foreground clinging either to one of her spars, or top-hamper lost overboard by other ships. Alongside this to the right is an English boat with a lieutenant standing in it and the English crew helping the Frenchmen aboard. In the left foreground sailors cling to another floating spar. Beyond this and in the left centre foreground two more English boats rescue drowning Frenchmen, with a fourth in the extreme left of the picture. In the left background is the sinking ‘Vengeur’, port-broadside view, and beyond her above the smoke the topsails of other ships.

The struggle between the two flagships locked in battle dominates the centre of the composition, with the French ‘Montagne’, 120 guns, on the right and the ‘Queen Charlotte’, 100 guns, flying the Union flag of Howe on the left, both in port-bow view. The effect of the British fire can be seen in the confusion aboard the French ship with bodies falling from her gun ports. The ‘Queen Charlotte’ has lost her fore-topmast which resulted in her dropping astern of the ‘Montagne’, which thus escaped capture. This loss in fact occurred while Howe’s ship was well astern of the ‘Montagne’, which she never managed to engage in the position shown by de Loutherbourg. This reportedly led to disapproval of the picture by Lord Howe and more so by his Master of the Fleet, James Bowen, one of the heroes of the day. The latter considered it a slur on the ‘Queen Charlotte’ on the grounds that the French flagship would not have escaped, had he managed to get alongside her in the way shown. In the extreme right of the picture is an English ship, in port-bow view, which is believed to be the ‘Brunswick’.

The human concerns in the painting fill the foreground, with the theme of compassion to the defeated enemy. A swirling sea plucks at the French sailors who cling to the floating wreckage, while from small boats the strong arms of determined-looking British seamen pull their enemies to safety with hand and oar and boat-hook.

The painting was commissioned for £500, for engraving, by the publishers V. and R. Green and Christian von Mechel, as a pair to a similarly sized and priced military work of 1793-94, representing ‘The Siege of Valenciennes’ (May – July 1793) by the Duke of York. In both paintings de Loutherbourg had help with the figures from James Gillray, who had accompanied the Duke of York’s army in Flanders. Both pictures were publicly exhibited at the Historic Gallery, Pall Mall, from 2 March 1795, to raise subscriptions for James Fittler’s prints. That of the ‘Glorious First’ was published in January 1799 and that of Valenciennes in 1801. Both pictures were sold to Mr T. Vernon of Liverpool in 1799 and were exhibited on tour (including in Edinburgh in 1800). They were subsequently separated, the ‘Valenciennes’ ending up in Lord Hesketh’s collection at Easton Neston while the Prince of Wales bought de Loutherbourg’s for the Royal Collection in the early 1800s.

Following his accession at George IV in 1820, it was the need for a new pendant for it, in St James’s Palace, which in 1822-23 led to Turner’s only royal commission, to paint his same-sized ‘Battle of Cape Trafalgar’. This controversial work was delivered in 1824. While de Loutherbourg’s picture, as Howe and Bowen’s opinions show, is no more literally accurate than Turner’s it does not appear to have aroused the criticism levelled at the latter and which, in 1829, led to the King ordering the removal of both works from St James’s to the Naval Gallery at Greenwich Hospital, as the last of his major gifts to it. The reason is fairly clear: whatever the documentary or other failings of de Loutherbourg’s painting, it is – at least in comparison to the Turner – an unequivocally heroic image cast in a conventionally patriotic mould. De Loutherbourg took considerable care with the detail (as indeed did Turner, a youthful admirer of his, in its pendant). An overall compositional sketch and a detailed study of the ‘Queen Charlotte’ are in the British Museum.

The French ships are also shown flying the early Revolutionary naval ensign which places the French tricolour in the upper quadrant of the former Bourbon white naval ensign. This pattern was only in use from 1790 to May 1794, when it was replaced by the standard modern tricolour. Villaret-Joyeuse’s ships had sailed without the new pattern and the ‘Glorious First’ was the only major action in which the French fleet flew its three-quarter-white predecessor. ‘Queen Charlotte’ is shown flying the Union flag at the main commensurate with Howe’s position as Admiral of the Fleet, commanding-in-chief. (The flag itself is also in the Museum collection).

Born in Strasbourg, son of a miniaturist, de Loutherbourg was already a well-established member of the French Academy and painter to Louis XIV when the actor David Garrick, persuaded him to settle in London as scenic director at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, 1773-83, at the huge salary of £500 a year. He was a highly successful and influential designer for the theatre and, primarily as a Romantic landscape painter, was elected to the Royal Academy in 1781. He exhibited there in most years from 1772 to his death in 1812. This painting is signed and dated ‘P J de Loutherbourg RA 1795’.

This is one of six near-identical official portraits of the Dutch national hero, Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, commissioned by the governors of the regional admiralties. De Ruyter commanded the Dutch fleet during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1664-67). The ships in the background on the right were painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger. Technical examination shows they are on a separate canvas which was inserted into the main picture.

Although the quay in the foreground of this imaginary Italian port is dominated by an obelisk, the monumental staircase crowned by classical sculpture which leads to the building to the left draws the viewer’s attention. This palace is not a real building but the lantern on top is a direct reference to Amsterdam town hall. To the right an imposing two-decker enters the harbour. Storck’s work exudes the silvery atmosphere of a sunny morning in the Mediterranean.

The Battle of the Texel was fought between the Dutch and an Anglo-French fleet near Texel Island, off the Dutch coast. The low horizon, dramatic lighting and gunsmoke render this majestic work an immediate experience for the viewer. It was painted in 1687 as a Dutch commission, when van de Velde had already long been an ‘English’ court painter. The picture may even have been ordered by Admiral Cornelis Tromp, since it focuses on his flagship the Golden Leeuw (Golden Lion).

by Abraham Storck, circa 1670

This battle took place during the Second Anglo-Dutch War (1664–67). Storck combines various events from the action to emphasize the drama of the encounter. The masts, clouds and gunsmoke form an impenetrable haze. At the centre is the Zeven Provincien, flagship of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter. It bears a lion, the symbol of the Dutch Republic, on its stern. On the right is the English Royal Prince in full combat, although the ship was actually destroyed earlier in the battle.

A single English ship on the left battles with a ‘Barbary’ ship, and two galleys on the right, the nearest of which is sinking. Smoke fills the sky and the gunfire is reflected in the sea, illuminating the sails of the ships and their flags. A highly aesthetic rendering of the popular and ‘exotic’ subject, it is likely to have been painted in the ground-floor parlour of this very building, where the van de Veldes had their studio from 1672/3.

In this largely imaginary view of Leghorn, where tall ships tower over a quay, an elegant lady on a white horse is about to depart. Three figures, gesturing theatrically, are also conversing or haggling over business. On the quay is a statue of Ferdinand I de’ Medici, who made Leghorn a free port. The monument, which still stands, was completed between 1595 and 1626 by Giovanni Bandini and Pietro Tacca, and became a symbol of the city.

THE OCCUPATION OF NEWPORT, 9 DECEMBER 1776

By Robert Cleveley, 1777

(Highest resolution available 8165×5030)

In 1775 the 13 British colonies in North America rebelled against British rule and formally proclaimed their independence as the United States of America. What started as a war for America soon became a war for global maritime predominance. It differed in a number of significant factors from the Seven Years War, however. Firstly, Spain allied with France in 1779 and their combined navies were larger than that of the British. Secondly, the maritime war was conducted in Americas, thousands miles away from any quality dockyard resources. The Royal Navy’s successes in the Western Approaches in the Seven Years War had been largely achieved through easy access to the high-quality dockyards of the south and southwest coast of Britain. Crucially these had dry docks where the ships’ bottoms could be maintained and cleaned. In the coming war, however, that advantage was lost. Moreover, the War of American Independence came after nearly a decade of peace. In peacetime the ships had been laid up and the sailors and officers laid off, but to practise naval warfare at a high level required constant practice. Efficient sail handling and gunnery required crews to be drilled regularly; maneuvering the fleet required months of practice of each captain was to be able to regulate his position in relation to others be eye; and the repair pf damage caused by enemy fire or the weather was another skill that could be learned in dock. With no explicit and detailed policy to maintain operational effectiveness, rustiness had grown in Britain as quickly as complacency. The French and Spanish, meanwhile, had been steadily growing and modernizing their navies. In the coming war the Royal Navy was to receive a terrible shock.

THE OCCUPATION OF NEWPORT, 9 DECEMBER 1776. (Fragment)

When the war came, the Royal Navy used its experience in successful amphibious assaults of the previous war, among others, Québec and Havana to attack the rebels in their heartland. New York was a rebel stronghold and the most important commercial center in North America. To provide and alternative naval base to New York, Newport, Rhode Island, was also targeted, and the landing is shown in this image. The artist, Robert Cleveley, was an eyewitness to the assault, serving as captain’s clerk aboard the Asia. Both the attacks on New York and Rhode Island were great successes. The ships in the background can be seen laying down a covering bombardment while the boats pull for the beach. The boats in this image were specially designed landing craft known as ‘flatboats’. They could be stacked on board troopships, and once assembled and launched they could carry two rows of troops facing inward down the center, or artillery as is shown in the foreground to the right.

Source ID: #fghtshpsv2#