It is five days before Christmas. In the collective delirium of holiday shopping, few Filipinos will remember that today, the 20th of December, is the 28th anniversary of the Doña Paz ferry tragedy. And yet, the world's worst peacetime maritime disaster will forever...
In 1650 Dutch Master Rembrandt paid tribute to the beauty of seashells in an etching (pictured above) titled "De schelp" (The shell). It is a remarkable piece depicting the charm and mystery of the conus marmoreus, commonly known as the marble cone. How can one not be...
Second largest shipowning country after Greece1. Second largest shipbuilding country after South Korea2. Japan is a maritime nation indeed. More than economics, however, it is art as exemplified by Katsushika Hokusai's famous 1831 woodcut print The Great Wave off...
In the long history of seascape paintings, some stand out because of their visual and emotional impact. They tend to stamp themselves on the mind like a scene from a classic film or a Shakespearean play. Here's a look at seven seascapes which are not easily forgotten,...
Shipping is not any more conformist than other industries. But the herd mentality amongst maritime folks is so perceptible we are reminded of Friedrich Nietzche's observation in his philosophical novel, Thus Spake Zarathustra: “No shepherd and one herd! Everybody...
For reasons that are not hard to fathom, the sea has provided the impetus to some of the world's greatest and best loved poems. It is beautiful. It is daunting. And above all, it is mysterious. Perhaps these same conflicting qualities drove the sailors of old to...
More than a century after his death, Winslow Homer (24th February 1836 — 29th September 1910) continues to surprise, stimulate and spellbind. The man has been called the greatest American artist of the 19th century. Without a doubt, he is also one of history's...
Of late, we've been fascinated with nautical figureheads (like the one on the model of the 1790 French frigate Océan, pictured above). These wooden carvings on the prows of early sailing ships did not only serve to identify the vessel. They held a symbolic...
French artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954) did not produce much of what one would call maritime art. But the few works of his that depict boats, a harbour scene or a sailor have had a huge impact on us, as have his other paintings. His audacious handling of colour, which...
I am tempted to write a code of conduct for seafarers - something akin to Bushidõ, the code for the samurai of old Japan (pictured above). The shipping industry talks incessantly of seafarers' rights and has made a fetish of it. How often does one hear about the...
We've been looking for a proper, Filipino-built, model of a Spanish galleon to add to our personal nautical collection. Alas, our long search has come to naught. The models we've seen are all poorly designed and constructed from cheap wood, obviously by folks who know...
Manila is hardly a mecca of nautical art and decor. So when we first caught a glimpse of the soaps made by the wife of Norwegian expat Helge Oliversen, Employer's Representative at Wilhelmsen Smith Bell Manning, we immediately ordered a set (pictured above). Mrs...