Cooke made numerous trips throughout Europe and North Africa. In 1860, in company with Robert Bateman, he undertook a journey around Spain towards Tangier, travelling en route through Catalonia, Valencia and Andalucia. A new, more luminous quality began to pervade the colours in his work. The light of the Mediterranean can be seen even in his pencil sketches, which show clarity and the sense of exoticism that Spain awakened in European travellers.

In spring 1861, Cooke made three visits to Gibraltar from southern Spain and the north coast of Africa. On the last visit he went aboard the British warship HMS ‘Immortalité’, anchored in the harbour there, and made several drawings of guns and other equipment on board. In this drawing inscribed ‘Gibraltar 4 Apl. 1861.’, he shows the ship at a distance in broadside view, firing a salute, with the crew standing ceremonially on the yards.