Schepen en roeiboten op zee 1833 - 1869

Adolf Carel Nunnink made this print called ‘Ships and rowing boats at sea’ sometime in the mid-19th century. Prints such as this played a vital role in shaping the cultural life of the Netherlands. This was a period when Dutch national identity was being consolidated, and when the visual arts became deeply entangled with political questions. The popularity of marine subjects like this one speaks to the importance of the sea for Dutch trade and military power, reflecting a sense of national pride. Nunnink’s image belongs to a longer tradition of Dutch marine painting. The Rijksmuseum’s collection is full of such images, a testimony to the importance of maritime power for the Netherlands. Art historians research topics such as these, using archival sources to contextualize artworks like this. This helps us to understand art not just as aesthetic objects, but as historical documents that reflect the society that produced them.