A Raft and a "Onderlegger"
17th century
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 7 1/2 x 11 in. (19 x 28 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.881
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling maritime world of the 17-century Dutch Golden Age,ier Nooms, known as "Zeeman" (Dutch for "sailor captured the everyday drama of the sea in his etching *A Raft and a "legger"*. Created around the mid-1600s, this print depicts a sturdy log raft alongside an "onderlegger"—a traditional Dutch flat-bottomed barge used for transporting heavy loads like timber along canals and rivers. Nooms, a self-taught artist and former sailor, brought authentic detail to such scenes, reflecting the Netherlands' dominance in global trade and shipbuilding. Etching, Nooms' preferred medium, allowed...
About the Artist
Reinier Nooms, called Zeeman
Reinier Nooms, known as Zeeman ("sailor" in Dutch), was a prominent Dutch maritime painter, draftsman, and etcher of the Golden Age, born around 1623 or 1624 in Amsterdam and dying there in 1664 at about age 40. Before turning to art around 1643, he led a rough life as a professional seaman, which informed his unparalleled accuracy in depicting ships, ports, naval battles, and coastal scenes—knowl...