His Majesty's ship "Victory", Capt. E. Harvey, in the memorable battle of Trafalgar, between two French ships of the line
Watercolour
ca. 1806 (made)
ca. 1806 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This rare marine watercolour by Constable was exhibited at the Royal Academy annual exhibition in 1806. At this date it was topical both for its medium and subject. The year before, in 1805, the Society of Painters in Water-Colours held its ground-breaking first exhibition dedicated to displaying only watercolours. The same year Nelson defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar. Constable’s large watercolour of Nelson’s flagship Victory was intended to stand out at the Royal Academy exhibition.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | His Majesty's ship "Victory", Capt. E. Harvey, in the memorable battle of Trafalgar, between two French ships of the line (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and some graphite pencil, on paper |
| Brief description | Watercolour, 'His Majesty's ship "Victory", Capt. E. Harvey, in the memorable battle of Trafalgar, between two French ships of the line', John Constable (1776-1837), Great Britain, ca. 1806 |
| Physical description | Watercolour |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Isabel Constable, daughter of the artist |
| Historical context | 'Constable's only exhibit at the Royal Academy in 1806 was No. 65 [169-1888]. In June he was at East Bergholt, as is attested by Nos. 66 and 67 [224-1888 and 346-1888]. In the autumn he paid a visit of some two months to the Lake District and made many drawings, among them Nos. 72-94 [794-1888, 348-1888, 192-1888, 812-1888, 170-1888, 185-1888, 188-1888, 184-1888, 187-1888, 178-1888, 179-1888, 177-1888, 193-1888, 183-1888, 1256-1888, 596-1888, 181-1888, 182-1888, 1257-1888, 811-1888, 349-1888]. G Reynolds, 1973, p. 56 |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This rare marine watercolour by Constable was exhibited at the Royal Academy annual exhibition in 1806. At this date it was topical both for its medium and subject. The year before, in 1805, the Society of Painters in Water-Colours held its ground-breaking first exhibition dedicated to displaying only watercolours. The same year Nelson defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar. Constable’s large watercolour of Nelson’s flagship Victory was intended to stand out at the Royal Academy exhibition. |
| Bibliographic reference | Catalogue of the Constable Collection, Graham Reynolds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London: HMSO, 1973, pp. 56-57. |
| Other number | 65, plate 36 - Reynolds catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 169-1888 |
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| Record created | July 19, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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