1030 - 18th-Century Genoese School - Pair of Harbor Scenes with Shipwrecks

18th-Century Genoese School - Pair of Harbor Scenes with Shipwrecks Oil on canvas. Dimensions: 180 x 297 cm (with frame), 205 x 322 cm (with frame). The first of the works is accompanied by a report signed by D. Enrique Valdivieso, which dates the piece to the period 1710–1715. The painting depicts a historical event related to the clashes between the Turkish naval forces and the Order of Malta. On the back, an old label remains, indicating that the work was restored in Marseille by the firm Glize Fils. Regarding the second work, a report signed by D. Enrique Valdivieso is also included with the piece and dates it to around 1710. The scene depicts a naval battle in which six Turkish ships and four ships of the Order of Malta are engaged near a bay. It is worth noting that, since 1701, the Order of Malta had four ships named San Juan, Santiago, Virgen del Pilar, and San José. Naval battles were a recurring theme in the Genoese school beginning in 1610, when the Flemish painter Cornelis de Wael devoted himself to depicting costumbrist scenes and naval battles between Christian and Turkish vessels with great intensity and detail. Both works come from the collection assembled by the clergyman Antonio Barroeta y Ángel, a native of Ezcaray (La Rioja), who went on to serve as bishop of Lima and Granada.