Cliff on a Seashore c. 1592 - 1595

Hendrick Goltzius created "Cliff on a Seashore" using woodcut, a process of carving an image into a block of wood, in the late 16th or early 17th century. The Dutch Golden Age was a time of tremendous economic, scientific, and artistic growth in the Netherlands, but it was also a period marked by intense maritime activity and colonial expansion. Here, the immensity of the cliff contrasts the vulnerability of the tiny figures at its base, perhaps echoing the relationship between humanity and the natural world during an era of exploration. The ships on the turbulent sea remind us of the perils and promises of overseas trade, of lives risked in pursuit of commerce and conquest. Goltzius doesn't simply present a landscape, but asks us to consider our place within it. He invites us to reflect on our relationship with nature, with ambition, and with the human cost of progress.