A large Dutch flagship lies at anchor in a bay, firing a salute to port. The ship is flying Dutch flags and pennants. It is flanked by a smaller boat, on the starboard side, containing an outstretched figure which appears to be boarding the ship. On the right are two other substantial vessels. White flags bearing red diagonals suggest that these two ships are probably Spanish. In the shadowy foreground, on the right, is a small boat, probably a Mediterranean vessel, similar to the vessel by the Dutch ship. Both boats appear to have a lateen rig. A townscape, represented by turrets and roofs, appears at the base of a steep hill and rises into the sky in the background. In the foreground, the dark shadow of a fortification at the entrance to the harbour permeates the surface of the water. On the right, a stone watch turret with a domed top projects from the fortification wall, catching the light which throws the tower behind in shadow.

Compositionally, the painting is related closely to a sketch by van den Velde in the Frits Lugt Collection in which a large-scale flagship floats in lightly rippling waves beside an unidentified land mass on the right. It is plausible that this sketch is a preparatory drawing for the Greenwich painting and may reflect van den Velde’s preoccupation with the portrayal of whimsical Mediterranean scenes. With the exception of the large flagship, the positions and heights of the vessels on the water neatly echo the topography of the land shown behind them. The entire picture is imbued with a soft golden glow which indicates its southern aspect and chromatically unites the sky with both land and sea.

Whilst the painting is in the tradition of the cabinet pieces, painted on copper, by Jan Brueghel the Elder and other a number of other Antwerp artists (see BHC0711 and BHC0712). It is executed on panel rather than on copper, Van den Velde's preferred medium, and the support of choice for very small-scale cabinet paintings. Unlike van den Velde’s brilliantly finished depiction of shipping in BHC0850, the paint surface of this work eschews precision and refinement. This is particularly noticeable in the sea, where waves are painted in thin, filmy streaks, occasionally strengthened with thicker white highlights to indicate their subtle movement. The handling of the paint possibly suggests that the work is a modello for a finished painting. Moreover this interpretation is strengthened by van den Velde's decision to use panel rather than copper. Equally possible is that the painting was one of a pair originally and that its companion piece may have depicted more unruly weather conditions. Van den Velde’s early work was dominated by shipwrecks and storms. Afterwards this gave way to portrayals of calm, unruffled seas. Later, in his career, similar to his Flemish contemporary Jan Peeters, his work included fantastical capriccios of Italianate harbours. As such, this serene image is likely to be a later example by the artist and probably dates from the 1680s.

Pieter van den Velde was born in Antwerp in 1634. Here, he established a modest reputation as a marine painter specializing in portrayals of turbulent seas and sea battles. Comparatively little is known about his life and work, although, he became a Master of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1654. From around 1671, he sold paintings regularly through the Forchoudt art dealers and exported a number of works to Vienna. Debate continues as to Pieter van den Velde’s relationship to the prominent Dutch van de Velde family of marine artists and, while there is no certainty about his connection to the van de Veldes, he is widely believed to have been a distant relative. He died in Antwerp c. 1714. The painting is signed 'PVV'.