Hendrik Frans van Lint, 'A Landscape with an Italian Hill Town', 1700-26
About the work
Overview
We don't know where this castle and the surrounding landscape is located, but they are likely to be based on scenes Hendrik Frans van Lint saw when he was living in Italy. He was working with a group of Dutch and Flemish artists who returned home to the Netherlands to paint the mountainous scenery and soft, clear light of Italy. Van Lint shared in the popularity of these paintings with Northern European audiences. In this picture, he has opted for a cooler sky to bring out the sombre grey walls of the castle.
Like several other Italianate painters, van Lint sometimes enhanced the grandeur and lyricism of a scene by the addition of classical figures. In the foreground of this picture, the strolling couple are thought to be the Trojan hero Aeneas and the Sibyl, a priestess of Apollo who told fortunes. She foretold his death after many battles, but agreed to guide him to find his dead father in the underworld before his troubles began.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Landscape with an Italian Hill Town
- Artist
- Hendrik Frans van Lint
- Artist dates
- 1684 - 1726
- Date made
- 1700-26
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 22.7 × 34.6 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Lady Lindsay, 1912
- Inventory number
- NG2909
- Location
- Room 39
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School’, London 1960; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2014Making ColourThe National Gallery (London)18 June 2014 - 7 September 2014
Bibliography
-
1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.