Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

Italianate Harbour Scene with the Monument of Ferdinand I de’ Medici at Leghorn

Image credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London

How you can use this image

This image can be used for non-commercial research or private study purposes, and other UK exceptions to copyright permitted to users based in the United Kingdom under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised. Any other type of use will need to be cleared with the rights holder(s).

Review the copyright credit lines that are located underneath the image, as these indicate who manages the copyright (©) within the artwork, and the photographic rights within the image.

The collection that owns the artwork may have more information on their own website about permitted uses and image licensing options.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

A romantic evocation of a Mediterranean port scene, alluding to Leghorn (Livorno), Italy, principal port of the Dukedom of Tuscany at the time it was painted. Two large ships are moored at the quayside, that to the left being a Tuscan man-of-war. Her ornately carved stern bears a roundel of Neptune and four prancing hippocampi (sea-horses) which traditionally draw his chariot as god of the sea. One of the small craft on the left is piled with barrels and stores, with a black man in red sitting in silhouette on its lowered yard and another figure behind. The other boat bears a figure leaning against the mast and in the distance an arriving ship fires a salute to a fortress at the entrance to the harbour. Merchandise has been unloaded on the quay and a party including a handsome lady on a white horse, with two pack-mules a camel and servants, is about to leave. In front of the main ships the artist has positioned the statue of the Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany by Baccio Bandinelli, with its four bronze, chained, Turkish-slave supporters. This is still a notable feature of the Livorno waterfront today. On the right several Europeans are negotiating aggressively with an unimpressed Levantine merchant below a tall, picturesquely ruinous classical stone gateway to the fortifications. A hunting dog, sniffing at another in the centre, and a privy high on the curtain wall, upper right, add a touch of earthy realism.

National Maritime Museum

London

Title

Italianate Harbour Scene with the Monument of Ferdinand I de’ Medici at Leghorn

Date

1670

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 147.5 x W 261.5 cm

Accession number

BHC0873

Work type

Painting

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

National Maritime Museum

Romney Road, Greenwich, London, Greater London SE10 9NF England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.
View venue