Defeat of the Spanish Armada | Philip James de Loutherbourg | 1796 Size:16"x12" as the will-o'-the-wisp traditionally symbolizes

as the will-o'-the-wisp traditionally symbolizes something that is unattainable or misleading

whose limp form and anguished expression evoke both horror and pity

and the power of storytelling

drowned in 1822

Defeat of the Spanish Armada | Philip James de Loutherbourg | 1796 Size:16"x12" as the will-o'-the-wisp traditionally symbolizesDefeat of the Spanish Armada, 8 August 1588. A theatrical interpretation of the Battle of Gravelines, an historical episode that had taken place over 200 years earlier. The artist's painterly response depicts the dramatic nature of the event, together with a vivid use of light and colour to enhance the intensity of the image and the sense of violent struggle. The narrative shows the morning after the English fireship attack on the Armada in Calais