Image: Attack on San Salvador RMG BHC0268f

Description: Attack on San Salvador San Salvador was a city in the north of Portuguese Brazil, later called Bahia and now known as Salvadore. In 1624 it was attacked by a Dutch fleet commanded by Piet Hein and captured after a few days. Viewed from the south, Dutch and Spanish ships are in action in the entrance to the bay in the foreground. Piet Hein's ship is in the right foreground in port-quarter view, but nearly stern on. As well as engaging the Spanish ships, the Dutch ships on the left are bombarding the fort in the left foreground, which is replying. In the background near the city, Spanish ships are at anchor. They are also firing, together with a centrally placed fort. The ground rises steeply from the shore and the city is perched high up, with a skyline of church spires and roof-tops. The right side of the bay is guarded by the fort of San Antonio, below which the Dutch have made a landing in Sand Bay. The fort in the left background is called the San Philipe. Four brightly coloured parakeets soar above the bay, dominating the sky and identifying the exotic location. In the background more hills can be seen to the left and the right, together with another bay beyond. The work is careful in its depiction of rigging, sailors on the decks, and other details. The painting is probably based on an etching by Claes Jansz Visscher, which he published in 1624 and which incorporates an account below it and a key. Although the background in the painting is very close to the print, the foreground and arrangement of the ships have been changed to create a dramatic effect. Attack on San Salvador
Title: Attack on San Salvador title QS:P1476,en:"Attack on San Salvador " label QS:Len,"Attack on San Salvador "
Credit: http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/11760
Author: Andries van Eertvelt
Permission: The original artefact or artwork has been assessed as public domain by age, and faithful reproductions of the two dimensional work are also public domain. No permission is required for reuse for any purpose. The text of this image record has been derived from the Royal Museums Greenwich catalogue and image metadata. Individual data and facts such as date, author and title are not copyrightable, but reuse of longer descriptive text from the catalogue may not be considered fair use. Reuse of the text must be attributed to the "National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London" and a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 license may apply if not rewritten. Refer to Royal Museums Greenwich copyright.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No