The Battle of Scheveningen 31 July 1653: the last pass in the battle

The battle of Scheveningen was the last engagement of the First Anglo-Dutch War. The death of the Dutch commander-in-chief, Marten Tromp, early in the battle, led to confusion in the Dutch fleet, which was heavily defeated, though the English fleet also had to return to refit. This was the first battle at which van de Velde the Elder was certainly present in his galjoot (a kind of small Dutch coasting vessel), in which he shows himself in his pen-painting of the battle BHC0277. The drawing is annotated by van de Velde in Dutch ‘de Leste charsije tegenover’ [altered from ‘ontrent’] ‘de Middach sijnde ontrent 2 urren’ [altered from ‘de Vier urren’] ‘& verliet tromp de groote steng ontrent middachs’ – in translation ‘The last pass near midday being about two o’clock and Tromp lost his main topmast about midday’.

Object Details

ID: PAH1713
Collection: Fine art
Type: Drawing
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Velde, Willem van de, the Elder
Events: First Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of Scheveningen, 1653
Date made: 1653
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection
Measurements: Sheet: 228 x 363 mm; Mount: 476 mm x 630 mm