Het wegslepen van de Royal James tijdens de Vierdaagse Zeeslag, 1666

Dated to 1668 and held by Het Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam, this canvas depicts the towing away of the Royal James during the Four Days' Battle of June 1666 — one of the most significant naval engagements of the Anglo-Dutch Wars. The Royal James was an English second-rate ship of the line damaged during the battle; its fate was one of many specific incidents from the four days of fighting that van de Velde documented through a combination of his father's on-site sketches and subsequent pictorial reconstruction. Van de Velde the Elder had famously observed the Four Days' Battle from a small vessel, filling sketchbooks with accurate records of ship positions and movements that provided the foundation for numerous subsequent paintings by both father and son. The Four Days' Battle resulted in an English defeat, and Dutch paintings of its incidents served as propaganda as much as history. Het Scheepvaartmuseum's collection contextualizes this canvas within the full breadth of Dutch maritime history.

Canvas with oil depicting an active naval scene with the disabled Royal James as the focal vessel. Tow lines, rowboats, and the surrounding fleet create compositional complexity around the damaged ship. Smoke, damaged rigging, and disturbed water confirm the battle context.