Dutch Sails

I've been thinking about the Flemish master painters of the 15th century--Van Eyck and that lot. The Dutch, great sailors, got a jump on empire that century and they were gearing up to build out colonies around the world.

Their ships, coming into harbor to be refitted, ended up producing a fair amount of sail canvas no longer usable for sailing... and thus oil painting on canvas was born.

This illustration owes a great deal to Walter Crane (Golden Age of Illustration artist from the early 20th century).

But it's enough original that I'm happy to post it here...