Kofschip 1831

Pieter le Comte made this pencil drawing of a merchant ship, or ‘Kofschip’, sometime in the first half of the 19th century. This ship signifies the importance of maritime trade to the economic and social life of the Netherlands during this period. After the end of the Dutch East India Company, individual traders continued to ply the waters of the world, and artists commemorated these ships that bore their livelihoods across the seas. As an institution, the Rijksmuseum plays an important part in forming our sense of Dutch national identity. Studying archives and historical sources related to maritime history and trade, we can further understand the economic context that shaped this work. Artworks like this one are contingent on social and institutional contexts.