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The Council of War of the English fleet under command of Admiral Edward Russell on the ‘Britannia’ before the naval battles of Barfleur and La Hougue, May 1692, against the French invasion fleet of Louis XIV, 1698

Willem Van de Velde The Younger and Workshop

Exhibited by Bijl-Van Urk Masterpaintings, Alkmaar (NL)

Material Oil on canvas

Dimensions 16402 x 306 cm

Place of Creation Londn

Status Vetted

About the Work

'The Council of War of on the ‘Britannia’ by Willem van de Velde the Younger was commissioned directly from the painter by Admiral Edward Russell. The painting remained in his family until 2023.

Admiral Edward Russell was a member of a powerful and influential family of the landed aristocracy, with connections in the royal court. Within the Navy his excellent seamanship and his victory at La Hougue secured him immense prestige, and besides being a sound seaman and commander he was also a skilful politician.

The large three-decker the Britannia is depicted at anchor on the right side of the painting, seen before port beam; she has her fore and main topsails loosed on the cap. The flagship of Admiral Russell has the Union flag at the main, indicating that the commander-in chief is on board and the red ensign at the stern; there are pendants at the fore and the mizzen, and at the fore yardarm, the fore topsail and mizzen topsail yardarms. She employs pendants at the mastheads and yardarms, which most likely signifies that we are witnessing

the important occasion of the Council of War at the Britannia.

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Provenance

Commissioned by Admiral Edward Russell, 1st Earl
of Orford (1652-1727) for Chippenham Mansion,
Cambridgeshire, and by inheritance to his great-niece,
Letitia Tipping (1699-1779), wife of Samuel Sandys,
1st Baron Sandys (1695-1770), and by descent to their
son, Edwin Sandys, 2nd Baron Sandys (1726-1797),
and by inheritance to his niece, Mary, Marchioness
of Downshire and 1st Baroness Sandys (1764-1836),
and by descent to her second son, Lieutenant-General
Arthur Hill, 2nd Baron Sandys (1792-1860), and by
inheritance to his younger brother, Arthur Marcus
Sandys, 3rd Baron Sandys (1798-1863), and by descent
in the family to, Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys (1931
2023), at Ombersley Court, Worcestershire.

Literature

– J. Grego, Inventory of Pictures: Portraits, Paintings,
etc., Ombersley MS., 1905, where listed in the
Great Dining Hall. – ONM / 1 / 2 / 7, journal entry for a visit to
Ombersley Court, 25 August 1950, Oliver Millar
Archive, Paul Mellon Centre, London, p. 29. – A. Oswald, ‘Ombersley Court, Worcestershire - II’,
Country Life, 9 January 1953, p. 96, pl. 8.– Ombersley Court Inventory, annotated Ombersley
MS., June 1963, where listed in the Dining Room. – M.S. Robinson, Van de Velde: A Catalogue of the
Paintings of the Elder and Younger Willem van de
Velde, Greenwich, 1990, II, pp. 968-969, no. 636.– Ombersley Court Catalogue of Pictures, undated,
Ombersley MS., p. 28, where listed in the Ballroom.