Waterdichtmaken van de rompen van drie fluitschepen - Reinier Nooms

A detailed etching by Reinier Nooms depicting the careening and maintenance of Dutch fluyt ships in the seventeenth century.

This etching by Reinier Nooms, often known as Zeeman, captures the technical realities of seventeenth-century Dutch maritime maintenance. The scene depicts the process of careening, where ships are intentionally tilted to allow workers to clean and waterproof the hulls. The vessels shown are fluitschepen, or fluyts, which were common merchant ships of the era, recognisable by their narrow decks and wide, rounded hulls.

Nooms possessed an intimate knowledge of naval architecture, having served as a sailor before dedicating his life to art. His work is valued for its technical precision and lack of romanticised embellishment. In this composition, the viewer observes the labour involved in keeping the Dutch merchant fleet operational. Smoke rises from fires used to heat the pitch or tar applied to the wooden hulls, while figures on a raft in the foreground attend to the necessary repairs. The artist employs fine, controlled lines to define the rigging and the structural elements of the ships, creating a clear sense of scale and spatial depth.

This print is part of a series documenting the various activities within a busy harbour. The inscription in the upper right corner, 'Carolus Allard Excudit Amstelodami', indicates that the plate was published by the Amsterdam printmaker Carel Allard. The work provides a glimpse into the industrial side of the Dutch Golden Age, focusing on the practical tasks that supported the nation's maritime dominance. The composition is balanced, with the tilted ships providing a dynamic visual rhythm against the calm water and the distant horizon. It remains a primary source for understanding the methods used in early modern ship maintenance.