The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805

Image credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

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This is Turner’s only work by ‘royal command’ and the largest and most publicly controversial painting of his career. George IV gave him the commission late in 1822 on the advice of Sir Thomas Lawrence, President of the Royal Academy. It was to form a naval pair with Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg’s 1795 view of The Battle of the Glorious First of June 1794, in a patriotic post-war redecoration of the State Rooms at St James’s Palace. Turner did an unusual amount of practical research for this work, his most complex tribute to Nelson, of whom he was a great admirer. The finished work combines a number of incidents from different times in the action, within a more symbolic conception. Nelson’s presence, mortally wounded, is only implied in the highlighted crowd around 'Victory’'s mainmast.

National Maritime Museum

London

Title

The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805

Date

1822–1824

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 261.5 x W 368.5 cm

Accession number

BHC0565

Acquisition method

National Maritime Museum (Greenwich Hospital Collection)

Work type

Painting

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National Maritime Museum

Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England

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