| omschrijving | This grisaille or 'pen-painting' depicts the last battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War, 1652-54, and is based on eyewitness sketches by the artist, who was present and has interpreted it as a success for the Dutch. It was more widely regarded as a Dutch defeat, since they lost 15 ships. More disastrously, they also lost their leader, Lieutenant-Admiral Maerten Tromp, who was killed at the beginning of the engagement, producing confusion in the Dutch fleet. As a result the English were able to impose fairly harsh terms on the Dutch at the ensuing peace conference.
Here the battle is shown towards its conclusion, and viewed from a high horizon as a continuous narrative, since several incidents which occurred at different times have been combined in the one drawing. The fleets are shown passing each other with the English mainly on the port tack and the Dutch on the starboard, heading for land. Amid the crowded composition is the burning British ship, 'Andrew', 66 guns, shown in the right foreground being grappled by the Dutch fireship 'Fortune'. This is identifiable by the figure of Fortune on the stern. The 'Andrew' with lion figurehead visible, flies the Commonwealth jack with a cross and harp within a wreath. At the mizzen she also flies the white St George's flag of Robert Graves, rear-admiral of the white squadron, while small St George's vanes can be seen on the other two masts. The artist has also shown the consequences of this incident, with figures visible in fully laden ship's boats, and others in the water, all escaping the burning ship. There is an English ship close on her starboard quarter as well as another sinking to starboard.
In the distance on the far right are two Dutch ships: the 'Ster', which has a star on the stern and the 'Eendracht' with a lion and a seated figure of Hollandia within a fence on hers. Immediately behind the smoke from the 'Andrew' are the stern, masts and sails of the Dutch 'Jong Prins te Paard'. Beyond and to the left of these ships is the British commander, General-at-Sea George Monck, in the 'Resolution', 85 guns, flying the Commonwealth standard at the main. Also flying the red ensign at the fore, representing a signal for close action, she is just visible in the middle distance engaged in action with the Dutch 'Brederode', 59 guns, the flagship of the Dutch Commander-in-Chief, Maerten Tromp. She is still flying Tromp's flag even though by this stage in the battle he was dead. The 'Brederode' is also identifiable by the arms of Orange with lion supporters visible on the stern, together with the flag and pendant at the main.
The Dutch ships in the centre and to the left of the 'Brederode' are recognizable from their stern decoration; the 'Winhond', with a greyhound on the tafferel and the 'Vrede', 46 guns, identifiable by the full-length figure with a palm. The latter has the flag of Gideon de Wildt, second-in-command in Tromp's squadron, lashed to the remaining part of her fore-topmast and she can be seen engaging an English ship on her port bow flying a dark flag, which may indicate that it is the 'George', 70 guns, flagship of John Lawson, admiral of the blue squadron. A Dutch ship on the left, beyond a sinking English ship, is the 'Herder' with a stern decoration of a shepherd with his flock.
On the far left in the distance and enveloped in smoke from a burning English ship is probably the 'Gouda', 72 guns, and even further in the distance is the 'Vrijheid', 50 guns, with a flag at the main and on the stern a seated female figure holding up a cap of Liberty on a spear.
In the left foreground is a galliot under sail with several men on board, one of whom is the artist. He is the seated figure with his back to the viewer, wearing a hat, holding a drawing block and pencil, and looking towards the action on his right. The figure of a younger man stands to the left and his positioning indicates that he may either be an assistant or perhaps one of the artist's sons acting as an apprentice and learning through observation. The artist presents himself as a figure observing and sketching the progress of the conflict, which he was to do in a similar way in at least six battles of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. Such a prominent foregrounding implies that he wished to be identified with the painting and the battle. By taking an aerial perspective, rather than the view he would have gained from his position in the boat, he also states his involvement in the overall project.
Van de Velde produced several versions of this battle and the composition here follows the drawing he made during its course. The focal point of the painting is the sinking of the British 'Andrew', which was the one Dutch success of the action. The joint prominence of this incident and the artist may have been a form of advertising to ensure his participation was acknowledged.
This work is signed and dated 'W.V.Velde Å1655'.
|
|---|
Commentaar van bezoekers