The Battle of Gibraltar

The Battle of Gibraltar – Four Hours That Changed the Republic Discover “The Battle of Gibraltar”, the second design from the exclusive collaboration between Kunstsokken and Het Scheepvaartmuseum, the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. It is inspired by Cornelis Claesz. van Wieringen's monumental canvas from 1622 – almost five metres wide, and the opening piece of the exhibition Republic at Sea. On 25 April 1607, Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck sailed into the Bay of Gibraltar with 26 ships and fell upon the Spanish fleet lying at anchor there. Within four hours that fleet was destroyed. Van Heemskerck never saw the end of it – he was killed in the very first exchange of fire – but his victory brought the Dutch Republic to the negotiating table that led to the Twelve Years' Truce. The Admiralty of Amsterdam wanted the day immortalised. Hendrick Vroom, the most famous marine painter of his age, turned the commission down; Van Wieringen took it on and made it the most powerful naval battle piece of the Dutch Golden Age. Today it hangs in Het Scheepvaartmuseum – and now around your ankles too: knitted rather than printed, down to the red coats of the crew and the sloops on the deep blue water. A one-time run of 400 pairs. Wear a piece of Dutch maritime history – from admiralty commission to everyday sock drawer.