Tocht naar Chatham en de verovering van het eiland Sheppey, 1667 1667

Romeyn de Hooghe created this print of the Raid on the Medway in 1667. The engraving is divided into two registers depicting the events; the upper register displays the naval battles and the lower, the land invasion. The dark lines against the white paper create drama. De Hooghe uses a bird’s eye perspective, compressing space, and creating a sense of all-encompassing action. This elevated viewpoint flattens the image and draws attention to the patterned arrangement of ships, boats, and soldiers. The use of line to render details is intricate. Notice the almost obsessive depiction of each figure, each ripple in the water, each puff of smoke. The print served as propaganda, celebrating Dutch naval power. The formal structure, with its meticulous detail and compressed space, amplifies the sense of a world dominated by Dutch enterprise. This artwork then, is not just a record of an event but an assertion of cultural and political dominance. As viewers, we are invited to decode this visual rhetoric.