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Notes
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The artist Jacob Knyff specialised in topographical landscapes. In 1670 he had a studio in Paris, but he moved to England in 1672, when Charles II invited Dutch artists to work in Britain, and lived there until 1681. He has been identified as the painter of this large view of an Italian port, which is a so-called capriccio. To the right, set in a mountainous landscape and under a loosely clouded evening sky, the fortified town stretches out towards the spectator with a busy quayside in the foreground. Some of its buildings seem identifiable. For example, the façade of the church on the extreme right might be Trinità dei Monti in Rome. The domed church in the centre could be one of the two churches near the Forum of Trajan. On the other hand some of the civic architecture appears to have Dutch gables.
In the harbour to the left the shipping might also serve, in this particular case, to illustrate different types of interest rather than to illustrate a particular event, such as the formerly suggested embarkation of Catherine of Braganza for England to marry Charles II. The ships include an English three-decker, a French and a Papal galley, as well as a Dutch ship and other vessels. The staffage figures in the meeting and greeting scene on the quayside in the foreground are both Ottoman and European. Such a mixture of ‘exotic’ costumes is typical for seventeenth-century harbour scenes.
Title
Ships, Galleys and Other Vessels off an Italian Port
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 284.5 x W 485 cm
Accession number
BHC0935
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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Chiswick from the River, London Museum of London -
Dock Scene at a British Port National Maritime Museum -
English Squadron at Anchor National Maritime Museum -
Ships, Galleys and Other Vessels off an Italian Port National Maritime Museum -
Mary of Modena (1658–1718) Leaving Calais, 21 November 1673 National Maritime Museum -
View of Windsor Castle with Sailing Barges Government Art Collection -
Shipping off Dover with an English Yacht Entering the Harbour Dover Collections - 1 more