Boeg en spiegel van een schoener 1820 - 1872

This subtle pencil drawing of a ship’s bow and stern was made by Hendrik Abraham Klinkhamer, a 19th-century Dutch artist known for his maritime scenes. At the time Klinkhamer was working, the Netherlands was undergoing significant changes; it was transforming from a major colonial power to a modern nation-state. Maritime power had shaped Dutch identity for centuries, influencing its economy, culture, and international relations. Klinkhamer’s drawing, with its detailed rendering of nautical architecture, speaks to this legacy. But, looking closer, we might ask; whose labor built and sailed these ships? What role did the sea play in shaping the lives of ordinary people, who often faced danger and hardship in their work? How do the elegant lines of the schooner contrast with the harsh realities of life at sea for sailors and the enslaved people transported across oceans? These are some of the questions that come to mind as we contemplate the image of the ship, a powerful symbol of both opportunity and exploitation.