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While browsing the Google Art Project (http://googleartproject.com), The Battle of Camperdown 1799 by Phillip James De Loutherbourg is the artwork that caught my attention. The artwork itself is somehow telling its story:
By 1800, de Loutherbourg was celebrated for his dramatic depictions of maritime disasters and sea battles. The subject here is the decisive moment in the battle of Camperdown, off the Dutch coast, in 1797.
This artwork must be considered and art because it has a human intervention. It has a subject, theme, there is a medium and technique used, and there are compositional elements in the painting.
In the painting, you can see that there are numerous ships which are filled with people and some wrecked part of the ships with sailors begging for help. According to my research (Tate.org) , the subject of this large oil painting is the Battle of Camperdown, a major naval encounter which took place on 11 October 1797 between a British fleet under Admiral Adam Duncan and the Dutch fleet, who were then allied with the French. The battle was the most significant conflict between British and Dutch forces during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and resulted in a resounding victory for Duncan. De Loutherbourg shows the decisive moment when the British flagship Venerable, to the left of centre, fires its last broadside at the Dutch flagship Vryhied. The prominence given to the shipwrecked sailors in the foreground offers a human perspective on the conflict.
The medium used on this painting is, Oil on Canvas which means a painting done in oil paints. His picture was said to express 'the horror and devastation attendant upon a conflict disputed with such obstinate bravery'.
To summary the story , The British attacked in two columns with Duncan leading one line in Venerable and Vice-Admiral Richard Onslow leading the other in Monarch. The British attacked quickly to prevent the Dutch ships from reaching the protection of shallow waters near the coast. Venerable broke through the Dutch line and engaged de Winter's flagship, Vrijheid and several other British ships broke through as well. After a close action several Dutch ships managed to flee east; 11 were captured including the flagship, Vrijheid, but the British ships were too damaged to pursue. British casualties were 220 killed and 812 wounded; Dutch casualties were 540 killed and 620 wounded. Admiral de Winter, taken prisoner when his flagship, dismasted and with over half her crew killed or wounded, struck attempted to hand his sword to Duncan who refused and shook his hand instead.
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