1620
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
The Launch of a Galleon is a 1620 by Filippo Napoletano, a Baroque work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
This drawing shows a huge ship being rolled down a ramp into the water. Around it, people stand watching, some in groups, others alone. Smaller boats float nearby, and buildings line the shore. The artist used quick, sketchy lines to show movement and depth. The paper has a warm, aged look, like it’s been around for a long time. Next, look up cross-hatching to see how artists build shadows with lines.
The drawing depicts a galleon being launched from the Livorno arsenal, rendered in pen and brown wash over black chalk. Small figures operate windlasses and manage ropes to guide the vessel down the slipway, with barrels attached beneath the hull for stability. The composition emphasizes the galleon’s imposing size against the high walls of the arsenal. Previously attributed to Stefano della Bella, the work is now identified as by Filippo Napoletano, who documented maritime activity in Tuscany during the early 17th century.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Filippo Napoletano, whose real name was Filippo Teodoro di Liagno was an Italian artist, with a varied output, mainly landscape and genre scenes and also drawings or etchings of diverse, often particular, items such as…
See the richer artist page![View of the Castle Sant'Angelo and the Ospedale di Santo Spirito [recto]](https://pub-3a17a9933ad74fb28aa30fa758592f23.r2.dev/artworks/b09ebaffc1ffa770/thumb.webp)
