How you can use this image
This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).
Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.
The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.
Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.
Notes
Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.
Two ships are shown in difficulty in a heavy sea with storm clouds blowing away to the right above a rocky coast. The composition is dominated by a two-decker in port-bow view in the left foreground, being tossed close to the rocks by large waves. A ragged red ensign is still flying and although the mainmast is standing, the topmast has been broken off and there is no sign of the topsail. The positioning of the figures on the steeply pitched deck is a sophisticated interpretation of a technique previously used by Vroom and Porcellis. The figures are clearly visible, as if shown from an aerial perspective, and many of them look towards the viewer. The waves are shown crashing over the deck on the starboard bow and posing an increased danger for the men struggling to save their ship.
The artist may have incorporated this wreck to indicate the potential plight for the sailors on the main ship. The painting is believed to be one of the first pictures the artist painted in England and is thought to be the right-hand one of a pair, with perhaps the other picture showing the same ships in a calm sea. It is uncertain whether the painting indicates a specific incident or is an imaginary interpretation of a storm.
The artist was the younger son of Willem van de Velde the Elder. Born in Leiden, he studied under Simon de Vlieger in Weesp and in 1652 moved back to Amsterdam. He worked in his father's studio and developed the skill of carefully drawing ships in tranquil settings. He changed his subject matter, however, when he came with his father to England in 1672–1673, by a greater concentration on royal yachts, men-of-war and storm scenes. From this time painting sea battles for Charles II and his brother (and Lord High Admiral) James, Duke of York, and other patrons, became a priority.
Title
An English Ship in a Gale Trying to Claw off a Lee Shore
Date
1672
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 160 x W 132.1 cm
Accession number
BHC0900
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
-
A Dutch Hoeker at Anchor near a Pier English Heritage, Kenwood -
A Calm Sea with Two Fishing Boats, a Man of War Firing a Salute Beyond Mount Edgcumbe House -
Dutch Men O'War in a Calm Sea with Numerous Other Ships Mount Edgcumbe House -
River Scene with Boats Museum of Gloucester -
Shipping in a Calm Victoria and Albert Museum -
A Dutch Fleet Coming to Anchor in a Breeze English Heritage, Kenwood -
A Calm Sea with Two Fishing Boats and a Third Beached Mount Edgcumbe House - 177 more