An English Man of War

The artist is Jan Karel Donatus van Beecq, and the painting is dated 1679. The Marine painter van Beecq (1638-1722) was born at Amsterdam. His earliest known works date from the 1670s and represent English subjects. He specialised in the reprersentation of maritime scenes and ship portraits. There is another painting of the 'Royal Prince' by the same artist at the Royal Museum of Greenwich. The Greenwich painting is signed and dated 1679 by the artist. The Malta version is described as "sketchy" and according to the Royal Museum of Greenwich and a note written by Antonio Espinosa Rodriguez (found in the artefact's Inventory Card), it was purchased from a local collector, Paul Bellanti, nephew of the painter Michele Bellanti, in 1929. This painting has featured in important academic sources such as July 1932 Issue of THE MARINER'S MIRROR and in the Dictionary of Sea Painters by E.H.H. Archibald (published 1980, reprinted 1982).