Two Captured Danish Ships Entering Portsmouth Harbour is an 1807 maritime painting by the English artist Joseph Mallord William Turner.[1] It depicts two captured Danish ships of the line being brought into harbour by the Royal Navy at Spithead the major naval base off Portsmouth in Hampshire.
| Two Captured Danish Ships Entering Portsmouth Harbour | |
|---|---|
_-_Spithead,_Two_Captured_Danish_Ships_Entering_Portsmouth_Harbour_-_N00481_-_National_Gallery.jpg) | |
| Artist | J. M. W. Turner |
| Year | 1807 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 233.7 cm × 171.4 cm (92.0 in × 67.5 in) |
| Location | Tate Britain, London |
The ships had been seized in Britain's Bombardment of Copenhagen the same year. Britain had struck pre-emptively to prevent the Danish Fleet falling into the hands of Napoleon's French Empire. Turner witnessed the ships being brought in to harbour after the battle.[2] However, by the time he exhibited the work at the Royal Academy's Spring Exhibition at Somerset House in 1809 he had renamed the canvas Spithead: Boat's Crew Recovering an Anchor due to the political backlash against the Copenhagen attack.[3] Despite the fact one of the ships is clearly displaying the Danish flag, none of the reviewers appear to have picked up on this.[4]
It is now in the collection of the Tate Britain, having been part of the Turner Bequest in 1856.[5]
See also
editReferences
editBibliography
edit- Brown, David Blayney. Turner: In the Tate Collection. Harry N. Abrams, 2002.
- Hamilton, James. Turner - A Life. Sceptre, 1998.
- Reynolds, Graham. Turner. Thames & Hudson, 2022.
- Spencer-Longhurst, Paul. The Sun Rising Through Vapour: Turner's Early Seascapes. Third Millennium Information, 2003.
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