(Antwerp 1837–1904)
Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, signed, dated Hendrik F. Schaefels 1878, oil on canvas, 110 x 72 cm, framed, (W)

The Battle of Cape Trafalgar, near Gibraltar, marks a turning point in history and was the last major naval battle in the Napoleonic Wars that saved the British Isles from the threat of invasion by the French. Off the coast of Andalusia, under Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, the British succeeded on 21 October 1805 to gain full control of the oceans. The innovative attack plan, the ‘Nelson Touch’, in which two ship columns sailed in parallel, several hundred yards apart, at a 90-degree angle towards the enemy line and divided the United Fleet, turned out to be a successful strategy. However, this revolutionary tactic could only be implemented because Napoleon I threatened his Vice-Admiral Pierre de Villeneuve with dismissal, who then turned to the battle and left the port of Cádiz with the fleet. The French were numerically superior, but the English had the more experienced crew, such that a victory over their French and Spanish opponents could be achieved. Significantly involved in the triumph was the flagship ‘Victory’, which stands out with its broad, yellow stripes on its side. The guiding ship withstood the shelling and forced several enemy ships and their superior artillery to surrender. The biggest loss that the ship experienced was that of Lord Nelson, who succumbed to his injuries after delivering the victory message. His corpse was placed in a barrel by the captain and preserved in brandy to give him an honourable burial at a state funeral in England.
The present lot describes the heated fight and shows Lord Nelson standing on the corner of the ‘Victory’ a moment before the fatal blow. The commander stands proudly on his ship in the turmoil of the battle and leads his crew. The noise of the guns can be ‘seen’ in the painting and in the air hangs thick smoke. The tense atmosphere of the war is impressively captured by Hendrik Schaefels, who made a name for himself as a painter of historical naval battles.