Overall: 83cm (32.7in) x 104cm (41in)
Provenance: Sothebys, ‘Old Master and British Paintings 1500-1850’, 31.10.1990, lot 370 where it was described as in the manner of William Dixon. Oil on canvas.
Canvas: 68cm x (26.7in) x 89cm (35in). Contained in period giltwood frame.
The present work depicts the 74-gun Spanish ship San Domingo blowing up during the Battle of Cape St. Vincent fought (south of Portugal) on 16 January 1780 during the War of American Independence (1775-83). Sir George Rodney was convoying supplies to beleaguered Gibraltar. When he sighted a Spanish convoy of 22 ships west of Cape Finisterre, heading for their home port of Cadiz, 100 miles to the south.
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Rodney’s ensuing chase proved the value of copper-sheathing the hulls of British warships, and after a running fight a Spanish 64-gun ship, three frigates and a sloop were all captured. Battle commenced at 4 pm and at 4.40 pm, the San Domingo blew up and sank with all hands. Darkness fell (giving rise to the alternate name of the Moonlight Battle) and the chase continued through the night, until 2.00 am on the 17th. Despite fighting at night and in difficult, stormy conditions, Rodney did not lose any of his own fleet.
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich holds Richard Paton’s original painting. The present painting is possibly made for one of Rodney’s subordinate officers to commemorate his part in this significant fleet action. Moreover it was the first major naval victory for the British over their European enemies in the war and was thus a subject with broad appeal.
Rodney's flagship, the Sandwich, 90-guns, is positioned in port-quarter view, right of centre in the foreground. The artist has contracted the grouping of the ships so that the exploding San Domingo, to the left, appears to be not far from the Sandwich's port-bow. There is a Spanish ship in port-quarter view, firing her port-broadside, beyond the Sandwich’s starboard bow, and to the right other ships are involved in the action. In the left foreground are two men clinging to a spar attached to a topmast and sail. Beyond, a British two-decker in starboard-quarter view is in action to starboard with a Spanish two-decker in port-quarter view. Two other British ships can be seen almost stern-on in the background. Darkness is implied by the depiction of the sea in the foreground, in contrast to the rest of the scene, which is lit up by the force of the explosion.
Richard Paton (1717-1791), marine painter, was born in London to a poor family and as a child was sent out to beg on the streets. He is said to have been discovered on Tower Hill by Admiral Sir Charles Knowles. who took him to sea as an assistant to a ship's painter, after which he found employment in the Excise Office, where he was still working at the time of his death. A self-taught artist, Paton's paintings are sometimes regarded as having a naive quality to them, but nevertheless were highly regarded for their dramatic content. Moreover, the ‘Gentleman's Magazine’ declared in 1764 that 'Paton must stand with Samuel Scott as the foremost in painting shipping’.
Paton, together with his rivals Dominic Serres and Charles Brooking, gained significant status in the eyes of the public who were captivated by the naval exploits of age. Paton exhibited at the Royal Academy, where he showed his work until 1780. In 1776, he was granted permission by King George III to paint the Royal Dockyards at Chatham and Deptford and the resulting paintings are now in the Royal Collection. Paton died in London, a rich and famous man. The sale of his collection took place at Christies in 1792. It included three Rembrandts, three Brueghels, a Titian and an 'accurate and complete model of a frigate in a large mahogany case’.