This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.
WILLEM VAN DE VELDE THE ELDER (1611-93)
'Holmes's Bonfire', the burning of Dutch Merchant Ships between Terschelling and Vlieland, 19th August 1666
RCIN 406560
In 1660 Charles II appointed his brother James, Duke of York and later James II, to the position of Lord High Admiral of the navy. In 1675 the Duke of York commissioned a set of large canvases depicting 12 scenes of naval engagement. This work depicts a raid on the coast of Friesland during the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665 – 7) known as ‘Holmes’s Bonfire’.
Commissioned by the Duke of York, later James II
