Stoom- en zeilschip op zee c. 1825 - 1875

Here, Petrus Johannes Schotel sketches a steam and sailing ship on the sea. The ship, a vessel of both sail and steam, reflects humanity's ambition to master the elemental forces of nature. Throughout art history, the ship appears as a symbol of the journey of life, laden with hope and fraught with peril. Think of the ancient Egyptian "Ship of the Sun," traversing the heavens by day, or the Viking longships carrying warriors to Valhalla. The vessel is a constant motif in art, literature, and myth, representing our collective yearning for exploration and understanding of the world, but it is also a memento mori of human limitations. The image of a ship battling the waves, a symbol of humanity against the elements, embodies a deep-seated psychological tension. It speaks to our primal fears of the unknown, the uncontrollable forces that shape our existence. Schotel's ship, caught between wind and steam, between the known and the unknown, embodies this eternal struggle, as we attempt to chart a course through the turbulent waters of life.