Two large men-of-war, from a series Naval harbours with shipbuilding

The northern Netherlands was a seafaring nation, a reason why maritime scenes were sought-after subjects. The accomplished painter and etcher Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman (Seaman), specialized in this genre. Although the 17th century was a period of economic prosperity in the northern Netherlands, the country did not avoid a series of wars with England, with the Navy playing a crucial role, as it also did in the country’s colonial empire-building.