This painting (BHC0265) depicts the Battle of Gibraltar, 25 April 1607 in which some thirty Dutch vessels, under the command of Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk, defeated the Spanish fleet. The battle was the first major naval victory for the Dutch in the Eighty Years War, 1568-1648 and it was the first time during the conflict that the Dutch had effectively trounced the Spanish in Spanish waters. The battle began when thirty Dutch ships took the Spanish fleet by surprise in the Bay of Gibraltar in an action which lasted four hours. The entire Spanish fleet, which had threatened Dutch trade with Asia, was destroyed and 4000 Spaniards as well as 100 Dutchmen lost their lives. Both Dutch and Spanish admirals were amongst the dead including the Dutch Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk and the Spanish Admiral Don Juan Alvares d’Avila. Admiral Jacob van Heemskerk (1567-1607) was killed at the beginning of the action whilst standing on deck. He was hit by a Spanish cannon ball which severed his leg.

Unusually, in this painting, the Dutch and Spanish ships are shown running from right to left with the Dutch in pursuit. This pursuit is not known from any other representations of the battle. On the right, in the foreground, is Heemskerk's flagship the 'Æolus' with the flagship of Vice-Admiral Laurens Jacobsz Alteras of Zeeland, the 'De Roode Leeuw' (the Red Lion), on her starboard bow. In the central background, close to the ‘De Roode Leeuw’, is the Spanish rear-admiral's ship the 'Madre de Dios' (Mother of God). Two other Spanish flagships can be seen running out of the painting on the left. They are the ‘San Augustin’ in the foreground, which flies the flag of Don Juan Alvares d’Avila, and, in the background, the Vice-Admiral’s ‘Nuestra Señora de la Vega’ (Our Lady of the Meadow). In the central foreground a small Spanish xebec (chebeck) is under attack from an even smaller Dutch caravel. On a diminutive scale, these two ships re-enact the larger battle taking place behind them. The artist has paid careful attention to details such as the uniforms worn by and weapons carried by the figures on these two small vessels. Sailors can be seen clinging to the flotsam in the water. The artist’s use of a high perspective has allowed as much detail as possible to be shown. Potentially these details could allow us to identify a specific point in the battle. However, at present, we have insufficient contemporary evidence for this to be determined conclusively. The painting does not demonstrate any discernible influence from the known accounts of the battle which were recorded by contemporary writers.

The Battle of Gibraltar was depicted by several Dutch painters during the seventeenth century. The earliest of these was Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom (1562-1638), the founder of European marine painting. His painting of the same scene may have been presented by the Dutch States-General to Prince Henry, elder son of James I and heir to the English throne, in 1610. However its present whereabouts is unknown.

Van Wieringen (Haarlem c.1575–Haarlem 1633) was a draughtsman, painter and etcher. He was strongly influenced by and he probably studied under Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom. Although he was a seaman before he became a marine painter. In 1597 he is recorded as a member of the guild of St Luke and as a signatory to its new articles of association. The new articles of association which, for the first time, distinguished artists from craftsmen were an innovative landmark and updated the outmoded organization of the guild. His early works included designing a tapestry for the council of Haarlem town hall. However, in 1621, Van Wieringen received his most prestigious commission when the Amsterdam Admiralty ordered a painting of the Battle of Gibraltar to be presented to Prince Maurits. The commission marked the completion of the new wing of the Prince’s residence in the Binnehof at The Hague. The painting, which depicted a previous military triumph, was intended as a token of support for Maurits who had reopened hostilities with Spain in 1621, following a truce that had lasted 12 years. Van Wieringen painted a sample piece, then a modello, and ultimately a finished painting for the commission. The painting, which Van Wieringen completed in 1622, shows the entire campaign in the bay including numerous ships clustered to represent particular episodes of the action.

Since, this painting is dated 1619, it is unlikely that it forms part of the Maurits commission. This artwork is van Wieringen’s first independent painting of the defeat of the Spaniards at Gibraltar. Moreover it is one of the few paintings by van Wieringen which is dated. The absence of the Rock of Gibraltar is, also, remarkable since it appears in all his other known versions of the battle. The large scale of the canvas and the intensely heroic subject of the painting suggest that it may have been commissioned by Heemskerk’s family as a tribute to the dead admiral. Curiously, for a Dutch commission, this version of the event shows the action from the perspective of the Spanish fleet. Moreover the signature and date '1619' are peculiarly placed on the Spanish flag of the 'San Augustin'. There is evidence that the canvas has been cut down. Consequently the original intentions of the artist are no longer clear. There is a larger version of this painting by van Wieringen in the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum, Amsterdam. The National Maritime Museum, also, has a large etching of the action which is made up of three plates. In this etching the action is viewed from the west end of Gibraltar towards Algeciras.

Heemskerk's Defeat of the Spaniards at Gibraltar, 25 April 1607