drawing
- Museum number
- 1850,0223.189
- Description
-
A sea fight; an English two-decker, with a St George's flag at the main, seen starboard bow view, engaged with a smaller ship to the right of uncertain nationality
Pen and black ink, with grey wash and watercolour
Verso: A small Dutch vessel
Pen and black ink over black lead
- Production date
- 1630-1635 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 84 millimetres
-
Width: 89 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- Despite the English subject, these studies were probably made before Hollar's arrival in England in 1636. As noted by Simon Turner, Hollar's use of the German form of his name ('Wentzel') suggests an early date when the artist was still based in Germany, and given the maritime theme, the drawing may be dated quite precisely to Hollar's trip to the Netherlands in 1634, which probably offered him his first view of an English ship. Both of the studies on this sheet were used by Hollar for etchings: the verso a seascape with ships (Pennington no. 1256; New Hollstein no. 229), and the recto a naval battle (Pennington no. 1257; New Hollstein no. 230), which formed part of an undated series of five plates of maritime ships. This last print was executed for Hollar by Bonaventura Peeters during the former's spell in Antwerp (1644-52), and it is possible that Hollar's connections with the Peeters family extended back to the first Dutch visit and the execution of this drawing.
The sheet has been cut down, particularly on the left, the sail on the left edge of the recto indicating the rest of the design which is seen in Pennington no. 1257.
Lit.: S. Turner, 'Hollar in Holland: Drawings from the artist's visit to the Dutch Republic in 1634', in Master Drawings 48 (2010), pp.95-97.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1850
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1850,0223.189
