Maritiem Digitaal
collectie zoeksyteem van de maritieme musea
Heemskerk’s Defeat of the Spaniards at Gibraltar, 25 April 1607
| titel | Heemskerk’s Defeat of the Spaniards at Gibraltar, 25 April 1607
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| inventarisnummer | BHC0265
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| collectie | Oil Paintings
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| museum | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
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| datum | circa 1619
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| omschrijving | A scene showing a view of the Battle of Gibraltar, 25 April 1607, the first major naval victory for the Dutch in the Eighty Years War, 1568-1648. Thirty Dutch ships took the Spanish fleet by surprise in the Bay of Gibraltar in an action lasting four hours. The Spanish vessels, which threatened Dutch trade with Asia, were destroyed and 4000 Spaniards and 100 Dutchmen lost their lives. All the Spanish ships were destroyed and both the Dutch and the Spanish admirals were amongst the dead. The Dutch Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck (1567-1607) was hit by a Spanish cannonball while standing on deck.
In the painting the Dutch and Spanish ships are shown running from right to left with the Dutch in pursuit. On the right of the painting in the foreground is Heemskerck's flagship the 'Aeolus' with the 'De Roode Leeuw' (the Red Lion), the flagship of Vice-Admiral Laurens Jacobsz Alteras of Zeeland, on her starboard bow. She is close to the Spanish rear-admiral's ship the 'Madre de Dios'. The two other Spanish flagships running out of the picture on the left are the 'San Augustin' in the foreground, wearing the flag of Don Juan Alvares, and the vice-admiral's ship 'Nuestra Senora de la Vega' beyond. In the central foreground a small Spanish xebec, under attack from an even smaller Dutch caravel, underscores the scene by repeating the battle being waged behind. The artist has paid careful attention to detail, such as the uniforms and weapons of the figures on these two small vessels. Sailors are shown clinging to the flotsam in the water. Use of a high perspective has allowed as much detail as possible to be shown.
Van Wieringen was born and died in Haarlem. He probably studied under Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom (1562-1638), regarded as the founder of European marine painting. Van Wieringen was a draughtsman, painter and etcher and was a seaman before he became a marine painter. In 1597 he is recorded as a member of the guild of St Luke and as a signatory to its new articles of association. This innovation was a landmark. It updated the guild's outmoded organization and distinguished artists from craftsmen. He also designed a tapestry for the council of Haarlem town hall and received his most prestigious commission in 1621 when the Amsterdam Admiralty ordered a painting of the Battle of Gibraltar to be presented to Prince Maurits. This was to mark the completion of the new wing of his residence in the Binnehof, at The Hague. By showing a previous military triumph it was also intended as a token of support for Maurits, who had reopened hostilities with Spain in 1621, following a truce that had lasted 12 years. The painting, which the artist produced in 1622, showed the entire campaign in the bay, including the numerous ships clustered to represent particular episodes of the action.
It is unlikely that this painting forms part of the Maurits commission since it is dated 1619. This version of the event is also curious as a Dutch commission since it mainly shows the action from the perspective of the Spanish fleet. There is also evidence that the canvas has been cut down and so the artist's original intentions are no longer clear. There is a larger version of this painting by van Wieringen in the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam, and the NMM also has a large etching made up of three plates of the action viewed from the west end of Gibraltar towards Algeciras. This version is signed and dated 1619 on the Spanish flag of the 'San Augustin', itself also a curious placing.
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| afmetingen | Painting: 1828 x 2946 mm. Overall frame size: 2028 x 3119 x 119mm
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