Schetsen van een landschap en figuren in boten c. 1660

This drawing, made by Wouter Schouten around the late 17th century, offers a window into the world and landscapes he encountered. Executed in delicate lines of pen and ink, it is a great example of the tradition of quick sketches that emerged as artists traveled. The immediacy of Schouten's drawing, the fluidity of line, would have been essential for capturing the fleeting impressions of a foreign land, as seen through the gaze of a ship's doctor working for the Dutch East India Company. His visual notes are full of boats, figures in motion, and distant landscapes, all rendered with economy. The choice of pen and ink as a medium is important here; this wasn’t about producing a finished work of art, but about rapidly recording information. Consider the labor involved, not just in Schouten's act of drawing, but in the global trade that brought him to these distant shores. In his drawings, the landscape itself becomes a witness to a complex network of trade, exploration, and cultural exchange.