Gezicht op Hobart met schepen in de haven en achterliggende bergen c. 1890 - 1910

John Watt Beattie captured this view of Hobart with ships and mountains through photography, a relatively new medium in his time. The most striking symbols here are the ships, symbols of travel, trade, and adventure across the vast oceans. Since antiquity, ships have represented the human desire to explore and conquer the unknown, a motif that recurs across cultures. Think of the ships on ancient Greek pottery or the Viking longboats depicted in Norse sagas. These vessels are not merely modes of transportation but potent symbols of passage, both literal and metaphorical. The mountain as a steadfast presence in the background provides an interesting juxtaposition with the ships in the foreground, evoking the sublime power of nature. This echoes throughout art history, embodying permanence against the transient nature of human endeavors. This contrast stirs something primal within us. It reminds us of our place in the world, the tension between our ambitions and the enduring forces of nature.