Cornelis Vroom, 'A Landscape with a River by a Wood', 1626
About the work
Overview
This mysterious landscape of a wood bounded by the sweeping curve of a river was, for its time, highly innovative. Instead of using trees to create a frame for an attractive view, which was the traditional approach, Cornelis Vroom has made the wood itself the focus.
Yet he has still managed to create a sense of depth. The low vegetation, the river bank and the glimpse of a sandy track catching the evening light form a deep foreground. Meanwhile the fields, bathed in sunshine, here become a distant view stretching behind the trees. Vroom has backlit the scene with a bright sky so we see the effects of light filtering through leaves, and the myriad shades of green and brown as the sun catches the treetops, breaks through the tiny gaps in the canopy or is lost altogether in the black depths of the wood.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Landscape with a River by a Wood
- Artist
- Cornelis Vroom
- Artist dates
- 1591/2 - 1661
- Date made
- 1626
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 31.2 × 44.2 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir Robert Witt, through the Art Fund, 1919
- Inventory number
- NG3475
- Location
- Room 16
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 19th-century English Frame
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.