Greenwich Palace from the North East with a Man o' War, by van Stalbemt

Acquisition at auction of oil on panel 'Greenwich Palace from the North East with a Man 'o War' attributed to Adriaen van Stalbemt (1580 - 1662) Netherlandish School, c1630. 135x287mm. Greenwich is seen from Blackwell Reach, with the tip of the Isle of Dogs visible on the far right. The old palace of Placentia stood until 1662 when demolition was begun to make way for the buildings which once housed the Royal Naval College. The two tall towers near the centre of the panel are so-called Armoury Towers: on the hill behind them is indicated the castle built by King Henry VIII and demolished in 1675 to make way for the Observatory. Apart from a mid-sixteenth century drawing by Wyngaerde, it is the earliest and most complete view of the Palace from the river to survive.