A rocky coastal Landscape with a Skirmish beween English Vessels and Galleys, possibly Cadiz

PROVENANCE:
Private Collection, Victoria, British Colombia;
Purchased by Daniel Wilkie (1846-1914);
By descent to the previous owner.

NOTE:
Willaerts' marine paintings are usually beach or coastal scenes in horizontal format with numerous figures in the foreground, lending a strong narrative touch. He often incorporated lateral framing devices such as rocks, trees and castles. Although he sometimes painted historical subjects and actual sea battles, many are fantasy scenes. In the present work, English vessels, identifiable by the flags with the red cross of St. George, are in battle with galleys off what appears to be a rocky Mediterranean coastline.