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Notes
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Nelson was struck by a musket ball fired from the French ‘Redoutable’ at approximately 1.30pm. Mortally wounded, he was rapidly carried below so that the men around him would not lose heart. Drummond’s composition here pays homage to imagery relating to the deposition from the Cross. On the left in the foreground, Nelson is held by two sailors and a marine who descend the companionway, apparently from the quarter-deck to the middle deck in this case. A dead marine lies on the lower level on the left and an injured sailor next to him, the latter being attended to by a soldier kneeling over him. A musket, discarded hat and other objects are carefully arranged on the deck in the foreground. These still-life motifs also appear in the other versions by Drummond.
Drummond has concentrated on the vertical thrust and strong diagonals created by the figure of the sailor on the right with his back to the viewer and the sailors on the left shown priming the gun. The sails billow and swirl around the smoke to frame the composition and enhance the dramatic effect.
This is one of a number of other variations by Drummond on the same subject (see also BHC0547, BHC0543, BHC0551 and PAF5982) and may relate to his large ‘Death of Nelson’ exhibited at the British Institution in 1807.
Title
The Death of Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805
Date
1806
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
H 72.5 x W 82.5 cm
Accession number
BHC0547
Work type
Painting
National Maritime Museum
Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England
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The Death of Nelson The Nelson Museum -
Sir John Soane (1753–1837) The Royal Institution -
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Admiral Duncan Receiving the Sword of the Dutch Admiral de Winter at the Battle of Camperdown, 11 October 1797 National Maritime Museum - 40 more
