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WILLEM VAN DE VELDE THE ELDER (1611-93)
The Battle of the Texel (Kijkduin), 21 August 1673
RCIN 405306
This work depicts the final battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672 – 4), where the Dutch successfully fought off an English and French invasion. It may seem strange that the Duke of York should commission a work depicting his enemy’s finest hour, but it could be explained by diplomacy: in 1677 his daughter, later Mary II, married William III of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic.
Commissioned by the Duke of York, later James II
