Portrait of the 'Mordaunt', Fourth Rate, built 1681, 46 guns RMG Pz7281, circa 1683

Portrait of the 'mordaunt', fourth rate, built 1681, 46 guns as the back of the paper is rubbed the drawing may be an offset from another - a process frequently used by van de velde as a means of replicating the details of a ship's hull. While the hull itself is carefully drawn the sails and rigging are vigorously drawn with untypical flourish. The 'mordaunt' was bought for the navy from lord mordaunt in 1683, and wrecked ten years later. The pendant flying from the main mast suggests that when the drawing was made she was already a naval ship and therefore a date of 1683 or later is likely. It was probably made as a preparatory study for an oil painting now in a private collection commissioned to mark the entry of the 'mordaunt' into the royal navy. Unavailable. Date: circa 1683. Dimensions: Sheet: 630 x 360 mm; Mount: 960 mm x 660 mm. Collection: Fine art.