Focus on this artwork and analyze the Analysis.
The painting is a seascape, as the majority of Luny's works were. It specifically depicts a scene of the bombardment wherein British victory is evidently close. Night has fallen, so it would have been several hours into the assault. Many of Exmouth's ships are seen in the middleground, launching their attack on the shoreline defences. In the foreground, there are several small ships, presumably the Algerian boats that were to be employed in the boarding of Exmouth's ships. Far in the background, the silhouette of mountains behind the port, and the clouded night sky can be seen. Little of the actual port can be seen, as it is shrouded by the billowing smoke.
The only source of lighting in the painting comes from the towering inferno in the approximate centre of the piece, behind Exmouth's ships. In the darkness of the night and the long shadows, it creates a Chiaroscuro effect, introducing stark contrast between light and dark. This is accentuated by the pure blackness that surrounds the scene from all sides. This effect is also seen in some of Luny's other paintings, most similarly in his Battle of the Nile.
Chiaroscuro middleground British Battle of the Nile