Jan Wouwerman, 'A Landscape with a Farm on the Bank of a River', 1650-66
About the work
Overview
A lone tree, stark against the skyline, almost tumbles down the side of a dune. It seems to stand for the hard life led by farmers close to the sea in seventeenth-century Holland. But a patch of sunlight picks out two men on horseback, seemingly chatting, and a woman nursing a baby with a child beside her, suggesting that there is warmth and leisure even in this bleak landscape.
Close by, two men point out fishermen in a boat on the river. Further in the distance on a hillside, two men survey the mountains ahead. Wouwerman has included these for artistic effect: there are no mountains in Holland.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Landscape with a Farm on the Bank of a River
- Artist
- Jan Wouwerman
- Artist dates
- 1629 - 1666
- Date made
- 1650-66
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 40 × 55.7 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1891
- Inventory number
- NG1345
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
-
1991Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
-
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.