Thomas Luny

London, Royal Academy, 1782, no. 217

STRUCTURE The canvas has been relined and is in good stable condition. PAINT SURFACE The paint surface is generally sound. There are traces of a repair to the upper centre of the work as well as traces of a craquelure pattern in the sky; this is typical of a work of this age and is stable. There are also areas where the paint surface is slightly thin. ULTRAVIOLET UV light reveals retouching to the aforementioned tear as well as infilling to craquelure off the right border; some further infilling to the sails of the vessels in the foreground. All retouching is beneath the present varnish which has some age to it. FRAME Held in a plaster gilt frame in fair condition.
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 This beautifully realised and vividly illustrated painting is one of the artist's most important and dramatic early works. Exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1728, Luny takes the key moment of high drama in the battle as the central element of the composition, with the action illuminated by the erupting flames of the exploding Santo Domingo.  Also known eponymously as the Moonlit Battle having been fought at night, the present painting depicts the famous engagement between Admiral Sir George Bridges Rodney and a Spanish fleet, under the command of Admiral Don Juan de Lángara, off Cape St. Vincent on the evening of 16^th January 1780.

The previous year Spain had entered the American Revolutionary War, joining the newly fledged United States, the French and the Dutch Republic in a pan Atlantic alliance against Great Britain. As part of the strategic objectives of that alliance Spain's immediate concern was the capture of the British military strongholds of Gibraltar and Minorca. So it was that on 29^th December 1779 Admiral Rodney set sail in the Sandwich with 22 ships-of-the-line, taking with him a large convoy and reinforcements bound for Gibraltar, en route to the West Indies. A week after arriving at the fortress Rodney received reports of a Spanish squadron of 14 men-of-war cruising off Cape St. Vincent, south of the Portuguese coast, and made preparations for action. Discovering the enemy on the 16^th he ordered his ships into line and prepared to engage Don Lángara's fleet. Seeing that they were heavily outnumbered the Spanish crowded on all sail in a desperate attempt to escape the British line, running for the shelter of Cadiz, 100 miles to the South.

At two o'clock in the afternoon Rodney ordered the general chase, allowing each ship to follow at its best speed and engage the enemy at their will. The British warships, their hulls lined with copper for greater speed through the water, soon outran and engaged the enemy, with HMS Defence, Bedford, Resolution and Edgar opening the action at four o'clock in the evening. As darkness descended the Spanish were engulfed by the British line and intense fighting ensued by the light of the moon. During the fierce British assault the Santo Domingo, which had been vigorously engaged by the captured Bienfaisant under the command of Captain J. MacBride, suffered a breach to its powder magazine, exploding with the loss of all hands. The action continued all through the night and by morning a further six ships had been captured. The battle was a resounding success and confirmed Rodney as one of the bravest fighting Admirals amongst the British fleet, a reputation that would later be ratified at the Battle of the Saints.

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