HORNBLOWER AND THE INDEFATIGABLE

When Horatio Hornblower first stepped from the pages of a C. S. Forester novel, a derring-do character was born who would enthral generations of readers for decades, the inspiration for both film and television.

Robert Taylor, a maritime painter of extraordinary ability, was also inspired when he created ‘Hornblower & the Indefatigable’, capturing with great authenticity the duel between the young midshipman’s frigate and a French frigate.As the eighteenth century drew to a close, the young midshipman Hornblower found himself assigned to the Royal Navy frigate HMS Indefatigable on blockade duty off the west coast of France, ready to pounce on any French ship unwise enough to venture out to sea. Tossed around in stormy seas it was a cold, wet and uncomfortable billet for the sailors of the Royal Navy, but when called into action no one fought better. Such was occasion when Hornblower’s frigate, commanded by Captain Pellew, caught a larger 40-gun French frigate attempting to break out one cold January day. With yards groaning and gun trucks squealing, the determined Captain Pellew lays his ship close to the wind and engages the Frenchman. Needless to say the Royal Navy was triumphant, the enemy was boarded and taken as a prize of war.

Great stuff, a ripping yarn combined with Robert Taylor’s inordinate mastery of the sea on canvas, make this piece a magnificent example of maritime art.