Coast Scene

The Dutch Republic’s pride in its successful maritime endeavors like fishing, shipbuilding, and foreign trade contributed to the great popularity of marine paintings like this one. Such coastal scenes were one of the most popular landscape genres on the market. Here, the fishing vessels used to catch herring, called herring busses, float atop a glassy sea that stretches to meet the low horizon, disappearing into the expansive sky full of billowing clouds. Atop the ships’ tall masts, Dutch flags flutter in the wind.