Zeegevecht tussen Hollanders en Fransen op de Noordzee (plaat 11), 1694 1694

Adriaen Schoonebeek created this print, "Sea Battle between the Dutch and French in the North Sea," around 1694. Its composition is dominated by a vast expanse of sea and sky, punctuated by the ordered arrangement of ships. The etching's formal structure creates a sense of strategic calculation, a game played on the sea where each ship's position is significant. The lines are crisp and precise, detailing the rigging and sails, while the ships are organized in relation to each other, suggesting a choreography of naval engagement. Note the cartographic elements, such as the compass rose and lettered annotations, which transform the scene into a kind of informational diagram. Schoonebeek presents the battle as an exercise in rationality, a calculated interplay of forces. In doing so, the print challenges any heroic narrative of naval conflict by reducing it to a play of signs, a semiotic representation of power and strategy.