Zeilschepen en een roeiboot op open water 1886

Henri Seghers created this monochromatic scene of sailboats and rowboats at sea with etching. The sails here, billowing and full, are a potent symbol of both human ambition and vulnerability. Throughout the ages, ships have signified journeys, exploration, and the human quest for the unknown. We see echoes of this in ancient Egyptian funerary boats, meant to carry souls to the afterlife, or in the Viking longships that bore warriors across vast oceans. Yet, these sails also remind us of our precariousness; like Icarus flying too close to the sun, the sea's unpredictable nature mirrors the whims of fate. The billowing sails can transform into tattered rags, symbolizing the ephemeral nature of human endeavor, evoking a deep, subconscious understanding of our place within the grand, often indifferent cosmos.