The darker side of this is acknowledged in a passing reference to “Dutch involvement in the transatlantic slave trade.” Is this sufficient? Contemplating that question offers a powerful lesson in institutional thinking, and how ideas of relevance and the lines that divide subjects and areas of scholarship can distort our sense of the history. In the exhibit’s brochure, the gallery says that while the Dutch were involved in the trade of human beings, “slave ships were rarely depicted in their marine imagery.” Which is why they are not explicitly present in this exhibition.
https://repeatingislands.com/2018/08/11/review-of-water-wind-and-waves-marine-paintings-from-the-dutch-golden-age/