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A View of an Estuary, with Dutch Vessels at a Jetty and a Dutch Man-of-War at Anchor

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Two Dutch men-of-war are lying at peace, but with their function abundantly clear: the gun ports are open and their canon protruding. Presumably this is for maintenance or as part of a drill; at anchor in a quiet estuary there would be no other reason to have guns at the ready.

For Simon de Vlieger’s contemporaries, such a scene would have undoubtedly evoked reassuring thoughts of national security and the naval power for which Holland was famous. And they would have immediately recognised the national flags and insignia displayed on the frigates. The nearer one has the arms of the Province of Holland on its stern and a Dutch flag at the top of the main mast, and there is a Dutch ensign at the stern of the more distant frigate. The boats at the jetty are service vessels which may be running supplies or people out to the men-of-war.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A View of an Estuary, with Dutch Vessels at a Jetty and a Dutch Man-of-War at Anchor

Date

about 1645-50

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 88.5 x W 122 cm

Accession number

NG4455

Acquisition method

Lord Revelstoke Bequest, 1929

Work type

Painting

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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