From the museum website, 25 March 2009
The Golden Age of Dutch seascapes follows the rise of seascape painting from 1550 to 1700. Through major works by Dutch and Flemish artists, the exhibition explores the major themes of maritime painting, from atmospheric to allegorical and nationalistic imagery. Works by Simon de Vlieger, Hendrick Minderhout and Caspar van Wittel explore methods of employing painting as a means to catalog foreign conquest and trade as the Dutch became a significant presence on the world’s seas.