Naval Engagement

Van de Velde was, most likely, the inventor of this particular technique. 600-1886 shows a naval battle between the English and the French, and the artist has captured the dramatic movement of the rolling and sinking boats in the waves under a clear sky. The composition is carefully constructed, divided between earth and sky, punctuated with the verticals of the masts and given a sense of depth by the contrasting diagonal of the advancing waves. The painting's spatial recession is enhanced by the technique of the pen-painting itself. Lines and shapes lighten as they move towards the horizon and the foreground is darker by employing parallel hatching. Although the work exploits these innovative techniques to their fullest, the painting should nonetheless be considered within to the tradition of the Dutch seascapes depicting everyday life in the North Sea, by earlier artists such as Jan Porcellis in the first half of the 17th century.