Plymouth

Hendrik Danckerts, ca. 1625–1680

1673

Oil on canvas

Yale Center for British Art

A wide view of a fortified coastal city with a harbor filled with ships, set against a backdrop of rolling hills and a pink-tinged sky. With access to both the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, Plymouth was a launching point for naval campaigns, colonial settlement, and trade with North America and the Caribbean. At center is the Royal Citadel, then nearing the end of its ten-year construction, which made Plymouth one of the most heavily fortified ports in the nation. At a time of naval conflicts and threats, this image offered proof of Plymouth’s protection. Danckerts was part of a group of Dutch painters working in Britain who were admired for their expansive landscapes. These artists were often commissioned by the government to paint views of its military i