Vissersboten in een haven 1834 - 1876

Carel Christiaan Antony Last created this print, "Fishing Boats in a Harbor", using etching and possibly other techniques. Last was working during a time of great social and economic change in the Netherlands. This print offers us a glimpse into the lives of working-class individuals whose livelihoods depended on the sea. We see the labor-intensive nature of fishing, with figures wading into the water, their bodies immersed in their daily toil. The boats are not romanticized, but instead shown as tools of labor, intimately connected to the lives of the fishermen and their families. Last’s meticulous rendering invites us to consider the complex relationship between humans and nature, and the precarious existence of those who depend on it. It reminds us of the human stories behind the commodities we often take for granted.