Alexandre Jean Noel (1752, 1834) Attributed. Large Shipwreck Scene Circa 1800

Alexandre Jean Noel (1752, 1834) attributed. Large scene of sinking of an English ship on the English coast.

Formerly re-lined canvas of 132 cm by 82 cm
Very beautiful period frame of 150 cm by 100 cm

This spectacular and superb shipwreck scene most certainly relates a moment of the disaster experienced by the English navy in 1707 on its coasts of the Isles of Scilly (the Sorlingues in French). Four ships ran aground including the HMS Association which would be the one represented on our table. 1,400 sailors lost their lives in the worst disaster in Navy history, outside of direct combat. The fleet made up of 15 vessels, commanded by Admiral Cloudesley Shovell, (1650–1707) was returning to the country after an attack on the port of Toulon, an episode in the War of Spanish Succession. Toulon squeezed between the English at sea, the Dutch and the Austrians on land withstood this combined assault. The very difficult weather coupled with the impossibility of calculating an exact position seem to be the reasons for this disaster. Note the realism of the sinking of this ship on this huge rock, the details in the representation of the ship and these sailors trying at all costs to find a solution to survive. The smoke in the sky at the top of the canvas (7 impacts on two rows) are in fact 7 cannon shots that we see pointed towards the sky in order, certainly, to warn the other ships of the fleet.

Alexandre Jean Noel (1752, 1834)

Born on December 31, 1752 in Saint-James in France, he worked mainly at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. A pupil of Joseph Vernet, Alexandre Jean Noël was a talented painter specializing in maritime landscapes, naval battle scenes and representations of the French navy. He was appointed Painter of the Navy by Louis XVI in 1777, an honorary title which enabled him to access official commissions and to represent the ships and maritime exploits of the French Navy. The works of Alexandre Jean Noël are often characterized by their precision and realism in the representation of ships, waves, skies and light effects. His paintings also reflect a great sense of composition and attention to the technical details of ships. Some of his most famous works include paintings depicting famous naval battles, such as the Battle of Trafalgar or the Battle of the Nile. His paintings are valued for their artistic and historical quality, as they document significant events in maritime history.