The Explosion of the Spanish Flagship during the Battle of Gibraltar

The painting depicts the explosion of the Spanish admiral ship during the naval battle at Gibraltar, April 25, 1607, when the Spanish warship is rammed by a Dutch ship. People are hurled into the air by the explosion. In the foreground, sailors try to rescue themselves in sloops, others swim in the water.

It was probably painted as a test piece for the great Battle of Gibraltar, commissioned by the Amsterdam Admiralty in 1621.