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Lot Essay
Although most of the paintings van de Velde undertook for Admiral Russell were ship portraits, this particular work commemorates one of his key naval victories. Russell led the Anglo-Dutch fleet to success against the French in the Battle of La Hogue, one of three major naval engagements that took place in the English Channel during the so-called War of the English Succession (1689-97), fought as a result of the accession of the Dutch Prince of Orange to the English throne (as William III) and the consequent alliance of England with Holland against the territorial ambitions of Louis XIV.
The battle took place from late May to early June 1692, concluding with fighting in the open bays of Cherbourg and La Hogue, where Admiral Russell and his large Anglo-Dutch alliance of nearly one hundred ships faced a French fleet of just forty-four ships. Russell and his fleet forced the French ships to scatter, eventually capturing or destroying many of them, including the flagship, the huge 104-gun Soleil Royal. With French supremacy in the Channel temporarily eclipsed, this was not only a decisive victory against France within sight of her own shores but it also caused such major damage to the French fleet, effectively ending any hope of invasion and thus the restoration of the Jacobite House of Stuart to the English throne. It also brought great recognition and appreciation of Russell; he was elevated to Admiral of the Fleet in November 1693, made First Lord of the Admiralty in April 1694, and later Earl of Orford in 1697.
The painting takes a view over the bay of La Hogue. The Soleil Royal and other ships from the French fleet burn near the coast, whilst the combined Dutch and English fleet are visible in the foreground. Robinson attributed this painting to Willem van de Velde the Elder and Studio, acknowledging that it would have to date to the last year of the artist’s life (op cit., p. 215). Instead, as Remmelt Daalder has proposed, it is more likely that it was painted by the Younger, with studio assistance, possibly with input from the Elder in the design (op cit., p. 171). The Younger would have been well versed in this particular genre of birds-eye view marine paintings and it is plausible that Russell himself advised van de Velde on details of the battle.
The delicate original frame with naval motifs is indicative of Russell’s ornate taste, and the original furnishing of Chippenham Hall. The series of naval scenes were not the only commission Russell made to mark his naval career; a baroque mirror frame now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv. no. M.2-2017), decorated with personifications of fame and the figures of Mercury and Hercules, was also presumably intended to celebrate Russell’s appointments as Admiral of the Fleet and First Lord of the Admiralty.
We are grateful to Remmelt Daalder for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.
The battle took place from late May to early June 1692, concluding with fighting in the open bays of Cherbourg and La Hogue, where Admiral Russell and his large Anglo-Dutch alliance of nearly one hundred ships faced a French fleet of just forty-four ships. Russell and his fleet forced the French ships to scatter, eventually capturing or destroying many of them, including the flagship, the huge 104-gun Soleil Royal. With French supremacy in the Channel temporarily eclipsed, this was not only a decisive victory against France within sight of her own shores but it also caused such major damage to the French fleet, effectively ending any hope of invasion and thus the restoration of the Jacobite House of Stuart to the English throne. It also brought great recognition and appreciation of Russell; he was elevated to Admiral of the Fleet in November 1693, made First Lord of the Admiralty in April 1694, and later Earl of Orford in 1697.
The painting takes a view over the bay of La Hogue. The Soleil Royal and other ships from the French fleet burn near the coast, whilst the combined Dutch and English fleet are visible in the foreground. Robinson attributed this painting to Willem van de Velde the Elder and Studio, acknowledging that it would have to date to the last year of the artist’s life (op cit., p. 215). Instead, as Remmelt Daalder has proposed, it is more likely that it was painted by the Younger, with studio assistance, possibly with input from the Elder in the design (op cit., p. 171). The Younger would have been well versed in this particular genre of birds-eye view marine paintings and it is plausible that Russell himself advised van de Velde on details of the battle.
The delicate original frame with naval motifs is indicative of Russell’s ornate taste, and the original furnishing of Chippenham Hall. The series of naval scenes were not the only commission Russell made to mark his naval career; a baroque mirror frame now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (inv. no. M.2-2017), decorated with personifications of fame and the figures of Mercury and Hercules, was also presumably intended to celebrate Russell’s appointments as Admiral of the Fleet and First Lord of the Admiralty.
We are grateful to Remmelt Daalder for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.