Allegory of Navigation
n.d.
Medium
Pen and brown ink, with brush and brown wash, on buff laid paper
Dimensions
6.8 × 18.3 cm (2 11/16 × 7 1/4 in.)
Classification
ink or chalk wash
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
83956
Art Historical Context
Jan Luyken’s *Allegory of Navigation* captures the spirit of Dutch maritime ambition during the Golden Age. A poet, engraver, and illustrator active in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Luyken frequently created emblematic designs that celebrated exploration, trade, and human ingenuity. Though undated, this small drawing likely served as a preparatory study or book illustration, distilling complex ideas into a compact visual language suited to prints and publications of the period. Executed in pen and brown ink with delicate brush washes on buff laid paper, the work demonst...
About the Artist
Jan Luyken
Dutch, Amsterdam 1649–1712 Amsterdam