Constantinos Volanakis

Possibly, Ministry of Shipping, London
Private collection, Greece (purchased circa 1914; thence by descent; sale: Sotheby's, London, 11 June 2012, lot 120)
Purchased by the present owner in 2012

Estia, Athens, 20 February 1877, cited
Miltiadis Volanakis, My Father, Athens 1963, p. 8
Manolis Vlachos, Greek Sea Paintings, Athens, 1993, p. 210, cited
Manolis Vlachos, Volankis, Athens, 2016, p. 319, illustrated

The canvas has not been lined. There are patterns of drying craquelure, notably in the dark pigments in the sails in the left of the composition, and some small, scattered dark spots in the sky. There is a circa 5cm tear in a sail to the left of the centre of the sky (visible in the catalogue illustration) which has been patched on the reverse and which could benefit from some work of restoration. There is a 2cm scratch to the left of the stern in the Redoutable and a faint diagonal scratch in the extreme upper left corner. Ultra-violet light reveals some areas of residual varnish which make the surface quite difficult to read. However, there are areas which fluoresce in the lower left and lower right corners and some spots of old retouching are visible in the sky in the centre of the left edge. These appear to have discoloured in time and are also visible to the naked eye. Presented in a decorative gilt frame.
"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."

Painted by the artist during his Munich period, this work shows Volanakis at the height of his career. According to Miltiadis Volanakis, the artist's son, the work previously hung in the reception room of the Ministry of Shipping in London (Miltiadis Volanakis, My Father, Athens 1963, p. 8)

The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was fought between the British Navy and the combined fleets of France and Spain, during the War of the Third Coalition (August - December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). In this dramatic work, Volanakis depicts the mêlée following the submission of the French vessel Redoubtable by HMS Victory and HMS Temeraire.

Trafalgar was the most decisive British naval victory of the war. Twenty-seven British ships of the line led by Admiral Lord Nelson aboard Victory defeated thirty-three French and Spanish ships of the line under French Admiral Pierre-Charles Villeneuve off the south-west coast of Spain, just west of Cape Trafalgar. The Franco-Spanish fleet lost twenty-two ships, without the loss of a single British vessel.

Nelson was mortally wounded during the battle, becoming one of Britain's greatest war heroes. The commander of the joint French and Spanish forces, Admiral Villeneuve, was captured along with his ship Bucentaure. Spanish Admiral Federico Gravina escaped with the remnant of the fleet and succumbed months later to wounds sustained during the battle.

Volanakis is an artist of great importance in nineteenth-century marine genre, most notably for his position as a key member of the Greek 'Munich School' movement of Academic Realism. Volanakis's interest in marine subjects was first exposed during his tenure as an accountant in the sugar firm of his brother-in-law Georgios Afentoulis, when his idle sketches of the harbour and small ships on the firm's ledgers drew the enthusiastic attention of his employer. Volanakis was duly sent, with the financial backing of his family, to the Academy of Arts in Munich, where he studied under Karl von Piloty.