Defeat of the Spanish Armada

De Loutherbourg painted the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1796, looking back to the great triumph of 1588 at a time when Britain again faced invasion threats from Revolutionary France. The painting served as both historical commemoration and contemporary patriotic statement. De Loutherbourg's theatrical oil technique deployed dramatic chiaroscuro and vivid atmospheric effects—glowing furnace light, moonlight on water, storm-raked sky—that he had developed through his work as a scene...

Cannon smoke, burning ships, and tumultuous seas are rendered with de Loutherbourg's theatrical intensity. The panoramic composition captures the sweep of the naval engagement.