Page 253 - Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding in the Dutch Golden Age

my work can be numbered in thi s category, I think this criticism should not be automatic. There will always be situations in which the only avenue of research available is the experiment. In this case model building was a practical means.
Model building has played a f ar more impor tant role in the past than is acknowledged today. Anyone who, lik e myself, spends most of his days sur- rounded by historical scale models such as the Dut ch Navy Model Collection in the Rijksmuseum and is able to observe the craftsmanship and attention of detail that has gone into these models wi ll realize that these creations were not made just for decoration or as a pastime, like so many are today. They provide a more det ailed image of reality than could even be obt ained from a dr awing, text, or oral account; they instruct both layman and professional alike and con- vey ingenious ideas and propositions. In this book I hope to have demonstrated that model building can also clarify a hitherto incomprehensible and uncompre- hended book.
With the public ation of this book a period of my life has been completed. Witsen’s book has changed my personal and pr ofessional life in c onsiderable ways. My research into thi s subject culminated in the oppor tunity to le ave my job as a te acher and ex change it for the post of chief restorer of ship models in the Rijk smuseum. My family moved with me from Groning en to Amsterdam. This book and its English translation is therefore a small monument celebrating almost thirty years of my life.
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