Stormachtige zee met zinkend schip 1793 - 1835

This image, a “Stormy Sea with a Sinking Ship,” was made by François Joseph Pfeiffer the second, sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. Pfeiffer was active in the Netherlands, so it makes sense to view this image as a product of Dutch culture, which, of course, had long been defined by its relationship to the sea. The Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century was built on maritime trade, and the ocean was both a source of wealth and a constant threat. Storms could wreck ships and ruin lives, and that's exactly what Pfeiffer depicts here. The dramatic scene speaks to the ever-present dangers faced by a seafaring nation. To understand this image better, one might research the history of Dutch maritime disasters, or explore the iconography of shipwrecks in Dutch art and literature. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.