The Landing of the Sailor Prince at Spithead

Continuing the tradition of the great marine painters of the seventeenth century, Francis Swaine developed a reputation for majestic seascapes of calms and storms, demonstrating his mastery of the nuanced complexities of depicting sea and sky.

On a calm, glassy sea, ten naval vessels are shown from varying angles; the rowboat at the centre bears the Royal Standard on the bow, indicating that a member of the royal family is aboard. The figure in red in the stern of the boat is thought to represent a young George III, before his ascension to the throne in 1760. It is interesting to note that the central flagship is a copy of Willem van der Velde the Younger’s painting Royal Sovereign of 1703, a work now in the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England. Van der Velde was undoubtedly the most celebrated marine painter of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and this work was replicated by several British painters, including Swaine’s teacher and later father-in-law, Peter Monamy.

Tansy Curtin, Curator, International Art pre-1980