THOMAS WHITCOMBE (BRITISH, CIRCA 1752-1824)
Action between Aigle & Sirene, circa 1808
Oil on canvas
24 x 36in (61 x 91.5cm)
Private collection
This painting is unusual in depicting ships engaged in battle while carrying full sails, including their studded sails. It was difficult to man the guns and set the full complement of sails. Full sail was needed here because the ships were engaged in a chase. Aigle (a 5th rate ship with 36 guns; under the command of Captain George Wolf) was part of a 5 ship British squadron blockading Lovient on March 22, 1808. They sighted two French frigates, Sirene (38 guns, Captain Duperre) and Italienne (40 guns, Captain H. Mequet) returning to Larient, France having landed troops in Martinique. The Aigle braved the French shore batteries on the Basse des Bretons to lead off the French frigates. She came close enough to the French ships to open fire. The Italienne abandoned her attempt to reach Lorient and bore up under the guns of Groix. The Aigle chased the Sirene and forced her to run aground on the Pointe des Chats, on the east corner of Ile de Groix. Since Sirene was protected by powerful shore batteries, the British squadron had to withdraw. The Aigle had 22 killed or wounded including severely wounded Captain Wolf. The Sirene was subsequently re-floated and reached Lorient safely. In 1853 the Aigle was connected to a coal hulk and finally sold to be broken up in 1870. The artist Thomas Whitcombe is known for documenting the naval actions of the French Revolutionary wars. More on Aigle & Sirene
Thomas Whitcombe (possibly 19 May 1763 – c. 1824) was a prominent British maritime painter of the Napoleonic Wars. Among his work are over 150 actions of the Royal Navy, and he exhibited at the Royal Academy, the British Institution and the Royal Society of British Artists. His pictures are highly sought after today.
Thomas Whitcombe was born in London between 1752 and 19 May 1763. Little is known of his background or training, although speculation based on the locations depicted in his paintings may provide some clues.
It is known that he was in Bristol in 1787 and later travelled to the South Coast; there are few ports or harbours from this region that do not feature in his work. In 1789 he toured Wales and in 1813 he travelled to Devon, painting scenes around Plymouth harbour. During his career he also painted scenes showing the Cape of Good Hope, Madeira, Cuba and Cape Horn. Between 1783 and 1824 he lived in London, including addresses in Covent Garden and Somers Town during the course of his exhibiting career.
His date of death, like that of his birth is uncertain; it was not before 1824, and possibly as late as 1834.
His range of work embraced naval engagements, ship portraits, coastal scenes with shipping and ships at sea in fresh breezes and storms. The topography of the background is interesting and well observed and the depiction of the ships themselves detailed and technically very correct, a legacy of time spent in dockyards studying the subject matter. The backgrounds are delightfully atmospheric and, like many British marine artists of the 18th and 19th century, Whitcombe favoured a dark foreground. More on Thomas Whitcombe
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