Template:POTD/2020-08-10

Picture of the day

The Battle of Scheveningen was the final naval battle of the First Anglo-Dutch War, taking place on 31 July 1653 (10 August in the Gregorian calendar). This oil-on-canvas painting of the battle, by Dutch marine artist Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten, shows a Dutch ship sinking in the right foreground and an English vessel on the left. In the centre, the Dutch flagship Brederode is engaged in furious action with English ships on either side, including Resolution. By late afternoon, twelve of the Dutch ships had either been sunk or captured and the Dutch retired; however, the English fleet was also badly damaged, and returned to port to refit. Both sides claimed a victory; the English because of their tactical superiority, the Dutch because their strategic goal had been achieved by the lifting of the English blockade of their coast. This painting is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.Painting credit: Jan Abrahamsz Beerstraaten