Philippe Tanneur (1795-1878) was a pupil of the history painter Horace Vernet. His work was represented for the first time at the Salon in 1827, by three paintings of sea battles. He exhibited four seascapes at the Royal Academy in 1841. He gained the patronage of the Tsar, and entered the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, but due to unacceptable behaviour was forced to leave the city of St. Petersburg in a hurry.

A lugger is depicted in the foreground with a man-of-war at anchor on the left and a ship in full sail approaching on the right.