The Piazza at Havana is a landscape painting by the French-born British artist Dominic Serres.[1] It depicts the scene during the British occupation of Havana, Cuba following Britain's capture of the city from Spain during the Seven Years' War.[2] British troops in redcoats are shown parading in the Plaza Vieja while British sailors are in the foreground. Serres painted a series of works focusing on the taking of Havana for the Keppel family, three of whom led the British campaign.[3][4] The title uses the Italian loan word piazza, common in English during the era, rather than the Spanish plaza.
The Piazza at Havana | |
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Artist | Dominic Serres |
Year | c.1762–1770 |
Type | Oil on canvas |
Location | National Maritime Museum, London |
It is part of the collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, London. It was one of a pair with The Cathedral at Havana a depiction of Havana Cathedral, both showing the city after it had fallen into British hands.[4]
References
editBibliography
edit- Mancini, J.M. Art and War in the Pacific World: Making, Breaking, and Taking from Anson's Voyage to the Philippine-American War. University of California Press, 2018.
- Morgan, Philip D. McNeill, John Robert, Mulcahy, Matthew & Schwartz Stuart B. Sea and Land: An Environmental History of the Caribbean. Oxford University Press, 2022.
- Russett, Alan. Dominic Serres, R.A., 1719-1793: War Artist to the Navy. Antique Collectors' Club, 2001.
- Schneider, Elena A. The Occupation of Havana: War, Trade, and Slavery in the Atlantic World. UNC Press Books, 29 Oct 2018.