ABSTRACT
Although marine painting seems to have led a marginal existence in the nineteenth century, compared, for example, with landscape painting which had many more practitioners, it was a respected genre. There was no doubt about this in the circles of artists, connoisseurs, and art lovers concerned with the theoretical side of art practice. Marine painting was an inseparable part of the esteemed traditional Dutch school of painting. It was partly because of this solid art-theoretical foundation that such a small specialism was able to survive in the Dutch art world. But there was more to it than just an admiration for the artistic quality of the genre and the skills of marine painters.
