Verovering van San Salvador in Brazilië door admiraal Jacob Willekes, 1624 1624

Sebastian Furck's engraving depicts the Dutch naval fleet's invasion of San Salvador in Brazil in 1624, dominated by sailing ships. These are not merely vessels of transport; they are symbols of power, commerce, and cultural exchange, each bearing the weight of European ambition and the promise of overseas wealth. The ship has long served as a potent emblem in the human psyche. Consider, for example, the Ship of Fools, a motif popularized in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, illustrating human folly and societal critique. Or the "Navis Ecclesiae," the ship as a symbol of the church, navigating the seas of life, its course guided by faith. Here, the ships are instruments of war, projecting European power into the New World. This image echoes through the centuries, resonating with humankind's complex, and often contradictory, relationship with progress and exploration, a powerful force engaging viewers on a subconscious level. The ship motif, laden with symbolic weight, continues its voyage through art history, resurfacing in new forms and contexts, a testament to the cyclical nature of cultural memory.