Portrait of the 'Eendracht'

Portrait of the 'Eendracht', viewed from slightly abaft the port beam showing the fore yard lowered. On the tafferel, the lion of the United Provinces is rampant guardant within a circular fence. There are two bunches of grapes hanging above the fence with a ribbon on the counter inscribed, 'EEN DRACHT'. The number of wouldings of the foremast is noted as '4 woelingen' and on the mainmast '6 woelingen'. The drawing, probably based on an offset, but not in reverse, is inscribed 'No 30/t schip den eendragt daer den/baron van wassenaer 1665 int/gevecht mede opgevlogen is' (No. 30 the ship 'Eendracht' in which the Baron van Wassenaer fought in 1665 and was blown up). The drawing very precisely delineates all the details of the ship, including its decoration, as if to be used for a painting. It is not likely that this work was drawn from the actual ship as not all the depicted elements could be seen from one view. The 'Eendracht' was a large 72-gun ship, which was built in 1653. She blew up in action at the battle of Lowestoft along with the 'Royal Charles', which was commanded by James Duke of York. This killed Jacob van Wassenaer and left only five survivors. The inscription on the drawing records this event.
Willem van de Velde, the Elder

Original size: 207 mm x 830 mm