Beached Whales

Whales began stranding more frequently in the 1570s, as the Netherlands revolted against Spain and the Dutch Republic was founded. The stranded whale became first a symbol of the Spanish depredations against the Netherlands, and then of the Dutch Republic’s resistance. Once adopted by the Dutch, the cetaceous unit began to reflect a new, more scientific approach to nature, one championed by Francis Bacon, by changing the images of butchery to one of measurement. The mathematical investigation of the ocean’s ambassador signified the Republic’s mastery over the ocean that provided for their success, in the form of maritime trade and Arctic industrial whaling. Hendrick Goltzius’ portrayal of the whale that stranded at Berckhey in 1598 codified the new scene, which still proves influential today.