Defeat of The Spanish Armada | Philip James de Loutherbourg | 1796 15th Century In the painting

In the painting

likely conveying the coldness and desolation of loss

the Choice between Virtue and Vice (1633)

her protective embrace heavy with fear and helpless love

His intense expression and clenched fist suggest a moment of deduction or intrigue

Defeat of The Spanish Armada | Philip James de Loutherbourg | 1796 15th Century In the paintingDefeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588. A theatrical interpretation of the Battle of Gravelines, an historical episode that had taken place over 200 years earlier. The artist's painterly response depicts the dramatic nature of the event, together with a vivid use of light and colour to enhance the intensity of the image and the sense of violent struggle. The narrative shows the morning after the English fireship attack on the Armada in Calais