Scheepswerf 1873 - 1888

Wilhelmus Johannes Steenhoff created this etching titled "Scheepswerf" portraying a shipyard. Dominating the scene are boats in various states of repair, beached and upturned, their forms looming like relics. Ships have been symbols of journeys, trade, and human exploration since antiquity. Their presence evokes our collective yearning for discovery. In ancient Egypt, solar barques carried the sun god Ra across the sky, a journey mirrored in funerary boats that carried souls to the afterlife. Here, though, the boats rest, evoking a more melancholic contemplation on time and transition. Notice the cyclical nature of the ship: built, launched, weathered, and returned. The shipyard is a liminal space—a place of endings and beginnings. This continuous cycle of decay and rebirth engages viewers on a subconscious level, tapping into primal emotions related to mortality and the passage of time.