Schiffe auf See, im Hintergrund eine Hafenstadt 

Cornelis Claesz. van Wieringen created this drawing of ships at sea with a port city in the background, sometime between the late 16th and early 17th centuries, a time when the Dutch Republic was a major maritime power. This work transports us to the age of exploration and mercantile expansion, yet it also evokes the complexities of Dutch maritime history. As ships traverse the waters, consider the human stories of trade and also of the colonial aspirations of this era. There were merchants seeking fortune, sailors facing the perils of the sea, and the enslaved whose labor fueled the engine of maritime trade. Van Wieringen's seascape captures not only a moment in time, but also invites reflection on the intertwined narratives of ambition, exploitation, and the human cost of progress. In its depiction of the bustling harbor and the open sea, the drawing becomes a mirror reflecting the multifaceted nature of a society shaped by its relationship with the ocean.