Talks & Conversations

Finding Awe: Dutch Seascapes

Part of Finding Awe
Beyond several craggy boulders that loom in the lower left corner of this horizontal painting, three sailing ships pitch wildly in crashing waves beneath towering clouds. At the center, a large ship tips sharply to our right with billowing ivory sails and two red, white, and blue striped flags whipping in the wind. White spray kicks up against the side of the boat and in the waves surrounding it. The sails of the second ship, to our right, are furled except for one that crashes down onto the deck. Tiny people scurry around inside the ship, which tilts steeply up on a high wave. The third ship floats beyond this, its sails also tied up. The top of a tall wooden mast along with a broken wooden pole poke up from emerald-green waves in the lower right corner, near a barrel and two bundles wrapped in cloth and tied with rope that bob nearby. One of the brown, jagged rocks to our left nearly spans the height of the painting while others jut from the water like crooked teeth. A bank of billowing, slate-gray clouds at the center of the sky separates a fog-gray sky and puffy clouds to our right from a patch of golden sunlight to our left, in the upper corner of the canvas. The artist signed and dated the work as if written on a rock at the bottom center of the canvas, “LBackh 1667.”
Ludolf Backhuysen, Ships in Distress off a Rocky Coast, 1667, oil on canvas, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund, 1985.29.1

Consider the vastness of the sea, stormy and calm waters, and find metaphors for life amongst seventeenth-century paintings by Jan van Goyen, Aelbert Cuyp, and Ludolf Backhuysen.

During this 90-minute pause from your daily route, we’ll look slowly and mindfully at Dutch seascapes. You’ll be invited to look closely, wonder, and share your insights with the group.  Together, we’ll learn “awe practices” that you can bring to your everyday life.  

The workshop exploring Dutch seascapes will be offered on February 27 at 2:15 p.m. and on February 28 at 10:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. We encourage you to register for one workshop on this topic and to join us for future topics as well.

Register on Thursday, January 1, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. When the workshop is full, the registration button will stop working. Due to last-minute cancellations, check back on the morning of the workshop for available tickets. Ages 18 and up. Questions? Email us at [email protected]. 

“Finding Awe” is grounded in the National Gallery’s mission to welcome all people to explore and experience art, creativity, and our shared humanity. It offers new “awe practices” drawn from the research of Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California-Berkeley, director of The Greater Good Science Center, and author of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life (2023). Research shows that experiences of awe help support mental and physical wellbeing and open us up to greater creativity and deeper empathy.

 Awe at the National Gallery of Art

Find ways to nurture an awe mindset—both at the museum and at home.

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