Early in his career, Elias Martin was a draughtsman at the sea fortress of Sveaborg, working for Augustin Ehrensvärd among others. This painting shows shipbuilding in the dry dock there. The creation of the Archipelago Fleet was hugely important, chiefly as a defence against the great threat to the east: Russia. Here, we see the influence of the French artist Joseph Vernet, who had inspired Ehrensvärd and later taught Martin himself.