Attack on Goree, 29 December 1758: Ships at Anchor after the Action

Dominic Serres's Attack on Gorée, 29 December 1758 documents a pivotal episode of the Seven Years' War: the British capture of the French island fortress of Gorée off the coast of Senegal, a key Atlantic trading post and one of the most important slave trade entrepôts in West Africa. The capture was part of Britain's global naval offensive against French colonial possessions. Serres, a French-born mariner who had been captured by the British and subsequently settled in England, became the leading British marine painter of the period and an original member of the Royal Academy. His naval battle subjects drew on firsthand maritime experience.

The aftermath view — ships at anchor after the action — trades the drama of battle for a composition of calm authority, with moored vessels reflected in still water against the silhouette of the island fortification. Serres's handling of light on water and the rigging of period warships is precise and convincing.