Monogrammist VHE

J.A. Dillen, Heemstede;
sale, London, Bonham’s, 10 December 2003, lot 48;
with Rafael Valls, London,
from whom purchased by the present owner

On loan to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1975-1995

The overall condition of this work is very good. The gouache has remained largely intact although there are tiny areas where the pigment has been lost. This is particularly noticeable around the red border. There are occasional areas of minor surface dirt, however this can only be seen on very close inspection. The vellum is laid down onto panel. For further information on this lot please contact Mark Griffith-Jones on 0207 293 5083 or mark.griffithjones@sothebys.com
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This luminous work, full of drama and detail, dates from the very beginning of the 17th century and depicts several moments during the Armada campaign.  To the right the south coast of England, with its green fields and fortified castles, bristles with activity.  On the horizon flares flicker, warning of the Spanish fleet’s arrival, while on the shore-line, Queen Elizabeth can be seen mounted on a horse, accompanied by a groom and a nobleman.  Behind the royal party stands a platoon of heavily armed soldiers, who have perhaps just witnessed the monarch’s celebrated and rousing speech: ‘I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all – to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust.  I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman: but I have the heart and stomach of a king – and of a King of England too!’  In the foreground, more English troops have gathered and, on a hillock, a soldier passes a letter to an officer who holds a flag embellished with the cross of St. George and with Queen Elizabeth’s coat of arms, while surveying the scene below.

Off shore the battle rages.  To the right the English warships are assembled.  The fleet’s flagship The Ark Royal is easily recognisable with its masts decorated with banners bearing the Royal Arms and those of Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham, Lord High Admiral and commander of the English forces.  To the left, the Armada’s flagship El San Martin can be seen with flags bearing the arms of Spain and those of its commander, Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia.  In the middle distance, English fire-ships, loaded with pitch, brimstone and gunpowder, make their way towards the anchored enemy fleet.  This reenacts the devastating events of 7 August 1588, when this tactic broke the Spanish formation, and their ships were 'scattered in a thousand directions'.  In the centre an English ship exchanges cannon-fire with the Spanish, while to the left a Dutch vessel, with its stern decorated with the rampant golden lion, attacks the San Mateo, a galleon that the Dutch were famously to capture after the Battle of Gravelines on 9 August.  

Despite the presence of the artist’s monogram in the lower right hand corner of this picture, his identity has remained unknown.  Stylistically the work conforms to the Antwerp tradition of gouache painting.  The inclusion of the Dutch action and the Dutch inscription adds weight to the theory that the artist indeed came from the Low Countries.  Two other works by this painter are known to survive.  The first is a Panoramic Hilly Landscape with a View of Antwerp, which was formerly part of the Unicorno Collection.¹  The second is entitled The Spanish Armada in the Straits of Dover and having once belonged to Baron Meyer de Rothschild at Mentmore, is now in the collection of the National Maritime Museum.²  This latter work was also painted in gouache and with its comparable size (130 by 320 mm) and similar subject matter should be viewed as a companion to the present lot.  Both of these works share compositional similarities with two engravings entitled The Armada in the Straits of Dover, which are dated circa 1600-10.³

1.  Sale,The Unicorno Collection, Amsterdam, Sotheby’s, 19 May 2004, lot 14

2.  National Maritime Museum, PAJ3949

3.  R. Rodriguez-Salgado, Armada 1588-1988, London 1988, p. 254, nos. 14.30, 14.31