The details now provided show this is rather more a puzzle than I thought. The ship burning at the back has falling French tricoleurs which would suit 'L'Orient' just before it exploded at the Nile. The British ensigns shown, however, are white rather than the blue appropriate to Nelson's squaronal colour as Rear-Admiral of the Blue at the time. Though I can't be entirely sure owing to the resolution, the Union quadrants may also be of the post 1801 pattern, with the St Patrick red saltire (which for the Nile would be a mistake).

The picture is very large and obviously by a highly competent hand. It would appear to have been a major commission for a marine work. It seems very odd that so little is known about it.

V good painting.Artist knows his ships. No survivors in small boats in foreground. Holes in sails and flags.I have found several paintings of Napolionic battles in a similar style-most unnamed-except for Auguste Ballin.???? Could it be a Serres? he did big canvases -we have six in Ipswich collection.Petworth House has a large Serres of Battle of the Nile.

The date given in the title, surely, is not an anomaly but a pointer to the fact that it is a night-time picture (post-midnight) in which the only source of illumination (even on the clouds) is from the battle.

The nocturnal lighting effects are reminiscent of Wright of Derby, though he was not a marine painter and died in 1797 anyway. Loutherbourg, of course, would be a more likely influence.

Is there writing on that item in the water in the foreground of the image (see detail-3)?

The position of the vessels is quite similar to the position of the vessels in a work by Richard Brydges Beechey (1808-1895) on Wikimedia Commons. https://tinyurl.com/2p9a7yk8

Is it certain that this is by a British artist, and do the anomalies mentioned in Pieter's first post indicate suggest that this might be a few years later than the battle?

According to the ‘Morning Chronicle’ of January 31, 1825, there was a contest at the British Institution in 1825 for “best pictures representing the glorious victories of the Nile and Trafalgar”. I suspect we could also look at images of the Battle of Trafalgar in our search for potential artists.

The BI competition of 1825 for pictures of 'naval victories' resulted in four BI commissions at £500 each for large versions for the then new Naval Gallery at Greenwich. That of the Nile was George Arnald's - very uncharacteristic of his general work - exhibited in 1827:

https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-destruction-of-lorient-at-the-battle-of-the-nile-1-august-1798-172530/view_as/grid/search/makers:george-arnald-17631841/page/1

The other three eventually commissioned were by George Jones (Nelson boarding the 'San Josef' at Cape St Vincent); H.P. Briggs (Lord Howe receiving a sword from George III on the 'Queen Charlotte' after the Battle of 1 June 1794) and Samuel Drummond (De Winter surrendering to Duncan at Camperdown in 1797): all are still at Greenwich (NMM). Despite the initial BI pitch for Trafalgar as a subject, and the various submissions for it, that was not commissisoned.

There is no sign of this one at the BI, or of a smaller study for it (which is what many of the other examples shown in 1825 were).

Thanks, Pieter. Could the artist be Samuel Drummond (1765–1844)? My composite is based on his 'The Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805'. https://tinyurl.com/yssep3pj. There are some similar puffy sails, and the smoke around the vessels in the centre of each work is quite similar.

Here are three articles that mention a large Nile painting by W. Leatham. I don’t see his work on Art UK.

If that is William J. Leatham, he is not our man--not good enough:

https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/William-J--Leatham/D269D5B8D24CC37F

What about Nicholas Pocock (1740–1821)? He showed two Nile paintings at the RA in 1799 (no. 27, no. 29). Here is a composite based on his ‘The 'Defence' at the Battle of the First of June, 1794’ https://tinyurl.com/2p8ezchn.

Pocock’s ‘Battle of the Nile, 1st August 1790 [sic]’ seems to have an incorrect title. https://tinyurl.com/4ym2fwdr.

The Pocock in the composite makes an intriguing comparison, and it is of a comparable quality as well as a relatively similar style.

Thanks for the suggestions though I don't see sufficient likenesses as yet. I'm sure its not Pocock (he didn't generally use such large canvases) and the 'Defence' picture cited as a comparison is also a very small one. He also died in 1820 after stopping work owing to a stroke a little earlier and I suspect the current picture is later. Though J.T. Serres used a similar compositional format, especially for the version reproduced on p. 105 of Alan Russett's monograph on him (rather than that at Petworth) it's also unlikely to be him, nor - I think -Beechey: in his case it's almost certainly earlier. Drummond is a problem: he's much more a figure/portrait painter including in his battle scenes which tend to be crowded incidents rather than overall views, and the 'Trafalgar' ascribed to him at NMM is sufficiently anomalous to warrant query.

The most obvious general precedent is de Loutherbourg (1800) which was engraved by Fittler in 1803 so disseminated thereafter. It may be a case for manual ploughing through SBA entries since that's the only obvious place left for London exhibition.

The flag inconsistencies are not unique: many other 'Niles' show white ensigns, rightly or wrongly, though the reason is yet to bottom out. It would help if there was a detail that clearly showed the form of Union (i.e. pre or post-1801).

Looking at the various ‘Trafalgar’ images on Art UK, I discovered some works by “William J. Leathem” (not “Leatham”). What are your thoughts on Leathem, Pieter? I agree with Jacinto that his watercolours are not like ‘The Battle of the Nile, 2 August 1798’. Here is his enormous (213 x 427 cm) work ‘The Battle of Trafalgar’. https://tinyurl.com/ycknd962. The puffy sails and the clouds are quite similar to those in the work by the unknown artist.

That's interesting in itself, and possibly partly based on Stanafield's equally big canvas of 1836 -which was engraved (in the old United Service Club, now housing the Institute of Directors,) but only one or two examples of a little-known man and not that close are not really enough. When I first saw it years ago I wondered about Francis Sartorius - by whom I saw a nght scene soon afterwards (i.e. the one that did marines rather than horses) - but haven't refound that or others that might help.

Perhaps, one day, someone might ask Brighton where the “very large” Leathem ‘Battle of the Nile’ is that was recorded at the Pavilion in 1857 and in their Gallery in 1910. I’ve looked at images of their 1,489 paintings and I do not see it.

Yes: an explanation for that would be useful, not least since Archibald's 'Sea Painters' says that Brighton 'has three oils: Battle of the the NIle 1798 [which would rule out that above], Battle of Trafalgar 1805, Off Shoreham [both on Art UK, the former being the one you produced] and a watercolour of the Brighton Chain Pier.' NMM also has three watercolours (Bombardment of Acre 1840, frigates at sea and and a fishermen laying a net, plus a couple of prints which are the only ones illustrated online - all under 'Leatham' (as in Archibald) which therefore needs correction.

He exbited in most years at the RA 1840-41, 1845-48, 1850/52/54/55 and once at the BI, 1847: all save 1824 (when from Pratt St, Lambeth) from Brighton addresses.

I suggest Art UK adjusts his death date from 'before 1862' now you have produced it (i.e. 18 July 1857).

All that said the six on Art UK don't really suggest he's our man but (despite the poor condition of some) he looks like he had good days: at his breezy best he looks a bit like Chambers senior.

Sorry: not at the RA in 1824, but from 24 Pratt St, Lambeth, in 1841.

This sketch by de Loutherbourg at the British Museum shows the names of the ships.
https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0328-208

Yes, but his sketch relates to his picture

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/de-loutherbourg-the-battle-of-the-nile-t01452

not this one. The only parallel is of compositional massing, this one following his and most probably based on sight of the related engraving by Fittler. The disposition of ships is very different, the only two readily identifiable here being 'L'Orient' (exploding) and presumably 'Vanguard' at centre right with blue at the mizzen and -at least technically incorrectly - a white ensign astern. (A possble explanation for that, given they appear in many other 'Niles', is that there was an order to fly them to avoid 'friendly fire' confusion, but if so I have no recollection of it.) Neither picture is reliably 'factual', but that's not the matter at issue, just the question of who could have done this one.

The large ship on the right is similar (except for the sails and flags) to one in an 1801 work by William Anderson (1757–1837) on the Bonham's website. I'm not suggesting that the mystery artist was William Anderson. https://tinyurl.com/2p87zpch.

I'm very grateful to our contact at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom for the attached photographs. Although the images were hard to get because of a glossy surface and bright white environment, they've managed to capture plenty of detail, including a monogram in the bottom right corner (nos 1 and 8 deliberately omitted).

Thomas Luny is the name the collection has as a potential artist, which would have come from the Royal Navy Trophy Centre, from which it is on loan.

They have submitted a maintenance request to get it off the wall to see the back.

The monogram looks like VA to me, but it might be a fused WA, in which case William Anderson (as previously suggested by Marcie) should be considered further.

Peter Nahum has very kindly replied about the monogram, 'Thank you for the image. On blowing it up it seems to read L V A. So possibly it is by a Dutchman L van A? It is not my period and I am not versed in seascapes either. So it is a guess. There is a long pre-tail to the L and I don’t know how to read that either.'

The collection has looked on the back but unfortunately there is nothing there.

Some details of flags sent by Marion confirm my suspicion of 11/03/2022 23:45 at the top of the discussion. The white ensigns are of the post-1801 pattern, with the St George on the foremast of the two-decker flagship indicating a Vice-Admiral of the White. These were Nelson's flags at Trafalgar in 1805 as commander of a fleet of the white in the three-decker 'Victory', not at the Nile where he was a Rear-Admiral of the Blue in a two-decker flagship ('Vanguard') flying a blue ensign without the red St Patrick saltire in the Union quadrant and a plain blue rear-admiral's colour at the mizzen.

The exploding French flagship and general dispositions only suggest the Nile to me with the flags the sort of error not usually made by marine painters at the time but more common later on (George Chambers, for example, accidentally used a post-1801 ensign in his 'Capture of Portobello, 1739' painted to mark the centenary in 1839). ) This picture looks perhaps 1820s-40s but since the monogram and style haven't thrown up a familar English name perhaps its not English despite general appearances, which would also make the flag error understandable.