Zeilboot 1890 - 1946

Cornelis Vreedenburgh sketched this sailboat with pencil on paper. The boat, with its mast reaching towards the sky, is a potent symbol, embodying themes of journey, exploration, and the human desire to traverse the unknown. The image of the ship dates back to ancient times, often appearing in classical art and mythology. Think of the Argonauts' quest for the Golden Fleece, or the ships in the Odyssey, loaded with symbolic weight. As seafaring technology evolved through the ages, ships also came to represent trade, cultural exchange, and the expansion of empires, shifting from emblems of adventure to those of power and commerce. Even in modern times, the sailboat retains a powerful emotional resonance, evoking feelings of nostalgia, freedom, and the allure of distant horizons. This is likely tied to the collective memory of our ancestors, who depended on the seas for sustenance and passage, as well as the more recent colonial past. In Zeilboot, the ship becomes a vessel not just of physical transportation, but also of cultural and emotional memory, sailing through time itself.