Born in Hamburg at the beginning of the nineteenth century, Julius Prommel studied at the Academy of Fine Art in Copenhagen from 1833 to 1844, during which time his style and finesse as a marine painter became apparent. Facing financial hardships, he would later become a ship builder in Trieste, focusing his energies in concretizing the images he so loved to paint. The current painting shows the USS Constitution, a noted and long-serving frigate built in 1794 and first launched in 1797. The vessel remains afloat to this day and can be seen in Boston’s harbor. The other ships populating the image pay homage to Prommel’s time in Denmark with the red and white Danish flag billowing in the marine air.