The Battle of Lowestoft

The Battle of Lowestoft

about 1690
Artist
Adriaen van Diest, Dutch, 1655-1704
Country
Netherlands
Object
painting
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Accession Number
2020.3
Credit Line
Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust

Adriaen van Diest, The Battle of Lowestoft, About 1690. Oil paint on canvas; 40 3/4 × 71 1/4 in. (103.5 × 181 cm). Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, 2020.3

Dimensions
image height: 40 3/4 in, 103.5050 cm; image width: 71 1/4 in, 180.9750 cm; frame height: 49 3/8 in, 125.4125 cm; frame width: 80 1/8 in, 203.5175 cm; frame depth: 3 1/8 in, 7.9375 cm
Department
European and American Art Before 1900
Collection
European Painting and Sculpture before 1900

Born in the Netherlands, Adriaen van Diest belonged to the first generation of marine artists to work in England after the tradition’s founding by Willem van de Velde and his son. In this picture van Diest commemorates England’s victory in the 1665 naval battle with the Netherlands, fought offshore of Lowestoft, on the North Sea coast of England’s easternmost point. With the burning hull of the Dutch ship Eendracht visible in the right foreground, the carved and gilded English flagship Royal Charles dominates the scene, cannons blasting and sails billowing. 
 

Known Provenance
Possibly Christie’s, London, February 20, 1882, lot 144; sale, Sotheby’s, London, April 9, 1997, lot 2; from which acquired by William M. B. Berger and Bernadette Johnson Berger, Denver; Berger Collection Educational Trust; gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2020. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum and we will post information as it becomes available. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.
Exhibition History
  • "Old Master Paintings and Drawings from Colorado Collections"—Aspen Art Museum, 07/30/1998 - 09/27/1998
  • “Treasures from the Berger Collection: British Paintings 1400-2000” — Denver Art Museum, 10/2/2014 – 9/9/2018
  • "Treasures of British Art 1400-2000: The Berger Collection"—Portland Museum of Art, 10/02/2014 - 01/04/2015
  • Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 01/25/2015 - 04/19/2015
  • Brigham Young Museum of Art, 08/14/2015 - 01/05/2016
  • Taft Museum of Art, 06/10/2017 - 10/01/2017
  • Joslyn Art Museum, 06/03/2018 - 09/09/2018
  • Denver Art Museum, 03/02/2019 - 01/05/2020

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