This is a ship portrait, viewed from the port broadside. The ‘Royal James’ is depicted grappling with Van Rijn’s fireship, the ‘Vrede.’ On the right is the fore part of the ‘Olifant’, Sweers’ flagship. In the foreground, the fireship’s crew is pictured escaping in a boat. Aert van Nes is depicted in his ship in the left distance.

This is a sketch for one of the many versions of the burning of the ‘Royal James’ and perhaps one of the first, since it is lightly done and has a number of visible corrections.