Giovanni Battista Viola, 'Landscape with a River and Boats', early 17th century
About the work
Overview
A number of boats navigate a pale turquoise lake that is surrounded on all sides by dark trees. The white sail of the vessel in the middle ground provides a bright accent, its curve complementing the shape of the branches at top left. In the foreground, two men stand on the shore, talking and leaning on their fishing rods; to the right, a passenger plays the lute as his boat pushes off. Few seem concerned with work.
Idealised, imaginary landscape views were extremely popular in seventeenth-century Italy. It is possible that this one, like its companion piece Landscape with Hunting Party, was made to hang above a door in the Palazzo Giustiniani in Rome. Viola has borrowed certain details within the painting – the sailing boat left of centre, for example – from a work by the celebrated painter Domenichino (private collection). He is also known to have studied the work of Annibale Carracci, to whom this painting was once attributed.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Landscape with a River and Boats
- Artist
- Giovanni Battista Viola
- Artist dates
- 1576 - 1622
- Date made
- early 17th century
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 95.3 × 132.1 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Holwell Carr Bequest, 1831
- Inventory number
- NG56
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Previous owners
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Michael Levey, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools’, London 1986; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
1986Levey, Michael, National Gallery Catalogues: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Italian Schools, London 1986
-
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.
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