Vertrekkende schepen voor de kust 1766

This print, "Departing Ships off the Coast," was made by Noach van der Meer the Younger in the late 18th or early 19th century. The mountain is the most prominent symbol, evoking the sublime—a sense of awe mixed with fear before nature's overwhelming power. The mountain, since antiquity, has been a silent witness to human events. Think of Mount Olympus, the home of the gods in Greek mythology, or Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Mountains are not only geographical features; they are also powerful cultural symbols, places of revelation and transformation. Consider how the mountain looms in the background, a reminder of nature’s permanence against the transient activity of the ships. This contrast between the eternal and the ephemeral engages our collective memory, touching upon humanity’s continuous struggle to find its place within the vast, indifferent cosmos. It's a landscape charged with the deep, almost subconscious recognition of our own fleeting existence against the backdrop of eternity.