Seegefecht, vorne rechts ein sinkendes Schiff 

Curator: Here we have a work entitled "Seegefecht, vorne rechts ein sinkendes Schiff" held here at the Städel Museum. Editor: That title just rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? What is it roughly translated to? What’s more interesting to me immediately is the way it feels, like a faded memory half-recalled. It’s mournful but busy, all at the same time. Curator: It would translate to something along the lines of "Naval battle, a sinking ship on the front right". The image rendered in ink and watercolor by Abraham Storck the Elder offers an interesting glimpse into naval conflicts of his time, and perhaps reflects a critical aspect of maritime trade, control, and their often violent consequences. Editor: There’s this one little boat filled with people near the fore, like they’re spectators in some kind of awful, watery theatre. Gives me the shivers! The technique is fascinating, isn’t it? So precise, almost architectural in places, but with this dreamy, washed-out feel overall. Like viewing history through a rain-streaked window. Curator: The combination of precise linework in ink with the atmospheric washes of watercolor certainly creates an ethereal feel. It is a study of not just the scene, but also of labor of many kinds, from that required to build and sail such impressive ships to the labor needed for conflict, its tools, and consequences. This relates back to the tradition of history painting—and one wonders if Storck intended some underlying critique of the mercantile power dynamics. Editor: I feel like I can almost smell the saltwater and gunpowder while looking at this. But labor, critique... it all boils down to the emotional core for me, that sensation of loss radiating from that listing ship, drawing everything else around it into its melancholic orbit. The light in the piece enhances the sadness of it. Curator: Precisely. The interplay of medium and subject here allows us to interpret both the physical making of the work and its deeper resonances, socially, politically, and beyond, in these seascapes by Storck. Editor: It is like these seas harbor silent stories. Hauntingly beautiful work.