Marine painting is among the distinctive inventions of Dutch 17th-century culture, and it has long been identified with the importance of the sea and seafaring for the rise and prosperity of the Dutch Republic and its citizens’ well-being. Dutch marine art is not, however, a single subject but presents a body of images remarkable for its ubiquity in society and variety of media, audiences, and purposes. Exploring glowing views of crowded harbors, gripping images of battles and triumphs, appalling scenes of shipwreck, and meditative glimpses of coastal and inland waters, Lawrence O. Goedde, Professor of Art History at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville, discusses the differing functions of marine images and the meanings they held for the Dutch of the Golden Age. Generously sponsored by the Martin A. Ryerson Fund.