Adriaan Schoonebeek. The Ship "Goto Predestinatsia", 1701

The Dutch master Adriaan Schoonebeek made this engraving in Moscow in 1701 by order of Peter I. It depicts the Goto Predestinatsia, Russia's first ship of the line. Seen from the stern, the three-masted ship sails the open sea under canvas; a boat and a snow appear on the left, and the silhouettes of other vessels line the horizon.

The ship's name combines the German Gott and the Latin praedestinatio and means roughly "God's Foresight". She was laid down at the Voronezh shipyard in November 1698 under Peter's direction and launched in 1700. The tsar himself reworked an English design, reducing the draught for shallow water, and took part in the construction; her armament consisted of 58 guns. Schoonebeek came to Russia at Peter's invitation in 1698 and worked in the engraving workshop of the Armoury Chamber. His prints later became one of the main sources for reconstructing the ship's plans.

In the lower right corner is a cartouche with a triton blowing a conch and a ribbon bearing a Latin motto that mentions Jason. On the shore a dragon guards a ram hung from a tree, a reference to the myth of the Golden Fleece. Below runs a 12-line Latin inscription with the engraver's signature and the words "Moscua 1701". It names the ship after the praying Saint Peter: because of this wording and the kneeling figure at the stern, in the 19th century the engraving was believed to show a ship called "Praying Saint Apostle Peter".