The failed Attack on Antwerp by Prince Maurice, 17 May 1605

The painting, dated 1650, is held in the Rijksmuseum and classified as a marine painting. Executed in oil on panel in the Southern Netherlands tradition and depicting a boat and house, it preserves a record of the failed 1605 assault on Antwerp by Prince Maurice.

The oil painting titled The Failed Attack on Antwerp by Prince Maurice, 17 May 1605 portrays a naval engagement near a shoreline. A fleet of vessels, some ablaze, advances toward land while soldiers on the shore ready themselves for defense. The composition emphasizes the disorder of battle, with crowded decks and a tumultuous atmosphere rendered in subdued brown and gray tones.

The work captures a specific historical episode: the unsuccessful assault on Antwerp led by Prince Maurice on 17 May 1605. By focusing on the chaotic arrival of ships and the hurried response of ground troops, the painting conveys the uncertainty and peril inherent in early‑modern warfare, highlighting both the vulnerability of the city and the intensity of the conflict.

The depiction reflects the broader military and political tensions of the Eighty Years' War, during which control of strategic ports like Antwerp was contested. Naval assaults were a common tactic, and the painting’s focus on both sea and land forces illustrates the integrated nature of warfare at the time.