Engraving after a painting made by Arthur William Devis, who made posthumous life sketches of Nelson's body on board the 'Victory' on its return to England in December 1805 and incorporated them into this death scene. Nelson is on his deathbed in the cockpit of HMS 'Victory' surrounded by his closest colleagues after being shot by a marksman from the ship 'Redoutable' during the Battle of Trafalgar. He reclines against the ship's knee and is covered by a sheet with only his head, left shoulder and arm visible. The painting concentrates on the human response of the men involved in this important event in the life of the nation. The colleagues that surround him are identifiable by their dress and likenesses. Devis borrows imagery of Renaissance religious paintings by bathing Nelson in a central, golden light.
