Roelof van Vries, 'A View of a Village', about 1660-5
About the work
Overview
Two figures stand and sit in the shadows at the edge of a wood and contemplate an ancient church almost shrouded in trees. Light filters down a pathway between them, giving an eerie feeling to the image. The picture has lost some of its colour and vibrancy, but even so it brings the imagination into play: the atmosphere; the figures in silhouette so we have no idea what they look like; the dark doorways of the church, hardly encouraging entry.
Small enigmatic figures dwarfed by the old buildings they contemplate make a common theme in van Vries’s paintings – why is this person here, will he go in through the door, what might happen next? The images seem to invite you to make your own interpretation of the scene, not just once but many times.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A View of a Village
- Artist
- Roelof van Vries
- Artist dates
- 1630/1 - after 1681
- Date made
- about 1660-5
- Medium and support
- oil on wood
- Dimensions
- 64.8 × 49 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Lt-Col. J.H. Ollney, 1837
- Inventory number
- NG134
- 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.