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Notes
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This painting is an allegorical evocation of the perils of seafaring but also seems to record a particular incident. The painting shows two ships approaching each other at the opening of a skirmish. In the centre a Dutch fluyt who flies a flag with the arms of the Dutch royal house of Orange in the second and third quarterings from the foremast. She is shown being attacked by an English privateer who flies a red-striped jack on the bowsprit, a similar flag at the foremast, a St George's cross defaced by a black spot in each quadrant at the main and a green-striped ensign. The Dutch ship endeavours to reach the safety of the harbour. On board both vessels the crews are occupied with securing ropes and hoisting sails. Privateers were armed vessels which, although they were privately owned, operated under official licence to raid enemy shipping for profit.
In the lower right of the painting three allegorical figures are standing on a rock. The central figure dressed in white and bearing a cross represents Christian Faith. She stands on rocks in the centre, to indicate that steadfast belief in God will grant safe deliverance for the Dutch ship. To her left stands a captain or ship owner who holds up a votive ship model to her as a token of thanksgiving. Christian Faith extends her right arm to him which implies a judgement in his favour. She grants him deliverance from the threatening English privateer captain on the right, a swaggeringly dressed privateer who stands with his arms raised in a gesture of anger or defiance.
Title
A Dutch Merchantman Attacked by an English Privateer, off La Rochelle
Date
1616
Medium
oil on panel
Measurements
H 87.7 x W 166.4 cm
Accession number
BHC0723
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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