The Battle of the Texel, 11-21 August 1673
Willem van der Velde the elder (Leyden 1611 – London 1693) and Willem van der Velde the younger (Leyden 1633 - London 1707)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
circa 1680 - 1693
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
1143 x 1854 mm
Order this imageCollection
Felbrigg, Norfolk
NT 1401338
Caption
The marine pictures at Felbrigg were almost all collected by William II Windham (1717-61). According to a fellow-member of the Genevan ‘Common-Room’, Richard Aldworth, Windham ‘could and did build vessels, and navigate them himself.’ Hence, perhaps, his preference for scenes that showed ships at grips with strong winds, over the calms for which Van de Velde the Younger was more celebrated.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, The Battle of the Texel (1673); the Bombardment of the 'Royal Prince' by Willem van der Velde the elder (Leyden 1611 – London 1693) and Willem van der Velde the younger (Leyden 1633 - London 1707). c.1680. This picture shows the crucial episode of the battle, when Corcelis Tromp's flagship, the Golden Leeuw (Golden Lion), bombarded the flagship of Admiral Sir Edward Spragge so severely that the latter was forced to abandon it. The Battle of the Texel was the last battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War 1672-1674 between the Dutch on one side and the English and French on the other. It represented the final attempt by the Allies to destroy the Dutch fleet and leave the coast free for an invasion of Holland from the sea. Maritime painting.
Provenance
Part of the original Felbrigg collection. In 1934 Ketton-Cremer was forced to sell this picture, his one and only major disposal, in order to pay death duties and for essential repairs. It was loaned back to the house in 2004 by the National Maritime Museum to which he had sold it. Loaned to the National Trust by the National Maritime Museum
Credit line
© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
Makers and roles
Willem van der Velde the elder (Leyden 1611 – London 1693) and Willem van der Velde the younger (Leyden 1633 - London 1707), artist Willem van der Velde the younger (Leyden 1633 – London 1707), artist Willem van der Velde the elder (Leyden 1611 – London 1693), artist