s The Bay of Naples - Hull Museums Collections

The Bay of Naples

All the current information on Butler seems to be derived from the presence of two pictures by him in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. He was a Neapolitan painter of the first half of the 18th century. It could be assumed that the artist was of British origin owing to his surname. The composition seems to have been a popular one as there is a similar view by Tommaso Ruiz (Uppark, Sussex, National Trust). The galleys seen here in the bay appear to be flying the Savoy flag, suggesting that the decorated boat is the royal barge of Victor Amadeus.