Zeeslag tussen een Frans schip en 25 Spaanse galeien 1841

Eugène Cicéri's lithograph depicts a naval battle between a French ship and twenty-five Spanish galleys. The prominent symbol here is, of course, the ship itself – a vessel laden with historical and cultural weight. Throughout history, the ship has symbolized the journey of life, fraught with perils and challenges. Think of the ancient Egyptians, who saw the voyage across the Nile as a metaphor for the journey to the afterlife, or the Vikings, whose ships carried them to new worlds and whose burials were often conducted in ships, symbolizing the final voyage. This echoes in later Christian art, where the Church is often represented as a ship, navigating the seas of life towards salvation. The naval battle extends beyond historical record, touching on themes of conflict and survival that are deeply embedded in our collective psyche. It's a timeless motif, resonating with our primal fears and desires and our endless quest for dominance.