Image: The Relief of Barcelona, 30 April 1706 RMG BHC0345f

Description: The Relief of Barcelona, 30 April 1706 This shows an incident during the War of Spanish Succession, 1702-14. After the British capture of Gibraltar in 1704, Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell and his joint commander-in-chief, the Earl of Peterborough, took Barcelona in August 1705 on behalf of the Hapsburg contender for the Spanish throne, King Charles. The French, who supported the Bourbon claimant to the Spanish crown subsequently laid siege to Barcelona, the principal Mediterranean seaport in Spain, by land and sea. In March 1706 King Charles sent an urgent plea for help to Admiral Sir John Leake, then at Gibraltar. The Comte de Toulouse, whose French fleet was blockading Barcelona, heard of Sir John's approach with a superior Anglo-Dutch fleet in time to escape, while the Duke of Anjou was forced to raise the land siege and abandon his artillery train to the Hapsburg forces. The painting shows an aerial perspective of the Anglo-Dutch fleet in the harbour, with the buildings of the port of Barcelona beyond. The Dutch squadron is visible in the left foreground, with the British fleet in the central foreground flying the red and blue ensigns. A smaller group of English ships are shown in the distance, closer to the city, and the artist has also included the principal topographical features surrounding Barcelona, such as the coastal range of the Collserola hills. The cartouche at the top centre of the painting, ornately decorated with seashells and coral in a late-baroque style, is a characteristic Vale motif. It bears the inscription: 'Barcelona Releiv'd by Sir John Leake Vice Admirall of the White and Commander in Chief of ye Confederate Fleet April ye 27th Anno 1706'. There is very little documentary information about the artist. But it is known that he was working in England in the style of van de Velde and Sailmaker between 1705 and 1730. The artist produced three other painting on the same subject. Signed 'H Vale'. The Relief of Barcelona, 30 April 1706
Title: The Relief of Barcelona, 30 April 1706 title QS:P1476,en:"The Relief of Barcelona, 30 April 1706 " label QS:Len,"The Relief of Barcelona, 30 April 1706 "
Credit: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11837
Author: H. Vale
Permission: The original artefact or artwork has been assessed as public domain by age, and faithful reproductions of the two dimensional work are also public domain. No permission is required for reuse for any purpose. The text of this image record has been derived from the Royal Museums Greenwich catalogue and image metadata. Individual data and facts such as date, author and title are not copyrightable, but reuse of longer descriptive text from the catalogue may not be considered fair use. Reuse of the text must be attributed to the "National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London" and a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 license may apply if not rewritten. Refer to Royal Museums Greenwich copyright.
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License: Public domain
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