Squadron of Prince Henry of the Netherlands in the Channel during rough weather, 1843

The work was commissioned to depict a specific 1843 naval event involving Prince Henry of the Netherlands. It was painted by Petrus Johannes Schotel in 1843, as indicated by the artist’s date on the canvas and confirmed by museum records. The painting entered the collection of Princess Sophie of the Netherlands, the monarch’s sister, who later bequeathed it to Het Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam, where it remains held. The museum’s accession aligns with the documented dimensions of 114 cm by 147.5 cm.

The oil painting Squadron of Prince Henry of the Netherlands in the Channel during rough weather, 1843, is housed at Het Scheepvaartmuseum under inventory number SK-C-1905. It was formerly owned by Princess Sophie of the Netherlands. The work has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum and is documented as part of marine art collections in Dutch maritime institutions.

Petrus Johannes Schotel’s 1843 oil painting portrays a Dutch naval squadron caught in a tempest on the English Channel. The canvas captures three sizeable sailing vessels battling towering, foaming waves beneath a brooding sky, with a shaft of light cutting through the clouds on the right. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.

Schotel, a noted marine painter from a family of artists, often depicted ships in realistic, sometimes turbulent, settings. This work aligns with the 19th‑century Dutch interest in documenting naval power and the challenges of maritime navigation, while also resonating with broader Romantic fascination with nature’s sublime and destructive capacities.