Monsieur Le Comte de Tourville Vice-Amiral et Marechal de France, 1696 (engraving, etching)

Creator: Antoine Trouvain Portrait of Anne Hilarion de Costentin, Comte de Tourville, Vice-Admiral et Marechal de France (1642-1701). Born into an aristocratic family from Normandy, Tourville joined the Order of Malta in 1656. He fought at the battle of Solebay in 1872, and then fought against the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter in 1673, serving under Abraham Duquesne. He was by then considered as one of the best officers in the service of King Louis XIV. His great victory over the English and the Dutch at Beachy Head (1690) probably marked the height of French sea power, but in 1692 he was defeated by the English and Dutch at La Hogue. He was later victorious (1693) near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. On 29 May 1692, at Barfleur, with only 45 ships, he inflicted heavy losses on a 97-ship strong English and Dutch fleet, and forced them to retreat. Tourville was one of the greatest naval technicians of his time and took an active interest in naval architecture. He died in Paris in 1701.