The Bombardment of Algiers (9000pcs)

The artwork, framed by a thin gold border, drops you straight into the heat of a naval battle: off a mist-shrouded, mountainous coastline, several three-masted men-of-war exchange cannon fire beneath a thick cloud of grey and white smoke. At the center of the scene, a fiery orange explosion lights up the sky and reflects across the water, while rowboats packed with sailors pull through the choppy, grey-green sea in the foreground, flanked by tall furled-sail warships dominating each side of the composition.

This dramatic canvas immortalizes a real historical event: the Bombardment of Algiers, which took place on August 27, 1816, when a British squadron commanded by Admiral Sir Edward Pellew (Lord Exmouth), joined by a Dutch flotilla, attacked the Regency of Algiers to force the release of Christian captives. The one-day operation freed more than 1,083 Christian slaves along with the British consul. To commemorate the feat, friends of Lord Exmouth raised a 200-guinea subscription to commission the painting, and the artist traveled to Plymouth to sketch the actual warships involved before completing the work for the Naval Gallery at Greenwich Hospital.

The painting is the work of George Chambers, Senior, a marine artist known for the accuracy of his naval scenes and his careful attention to every vessel he painted. The original, now held at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, is available here as a 9000-piece jigsaw puzzle, a format built for seasoned puzzlers looking for a long, rewarding challenge that can take dozens of hours to complete.

DIMENSIONS: 192 cm x 138 cm once the puzzle is fully assembled.