Willem Buytewech the Younger, 'A Dune Landscape', probably 1660-70
| Full title | A Dune Landscape |
|---|---|
| Artist | Willem Buytewech the Younger |
| Artist dates | 1625 - 1670 |
| Date made | probably 1660-70 |
| Medium and support | oil on wood |
| Dimensions | 25.7 × 34.2 cm |
| Inscription summary | Signed |
| Acquisition credit | Bought, 1910 |
| Inventory number | NG2731 |
| Location | Not on display |
| Collection | Main Collection |
| Previous owners |
Very little is known about Willem Buytewech the Younger and very few of his paintings survive. He was born in Rotterdam, where he was apparently active as a landscape and figure painter. In this picture – which strongly recalls the dune landscapes of Jan Wijnants – he combines both.
A man in a gold-coloured coat sits on a fallen tree. There are sheep and goats on the rise ahead of him. Further ahead, almost lost in the stunted trees, are two small houses; beyond them, beneath a broken sky, the lonely dunes stretch away towards the sea.
The man’s dog looks up at him and a grey horse waits patiently for him to resume his journey. But the horse has a heavy collar and no stirrups; perhaps it has been harnessed to a cart or wagon. On one side of the central group is a large, broken wheel – perhaps telling part of the story, but the rest of the vehicle is nowhere to be seen.
Very little is known about Willem Buytewech the Younger and very few of his paintings survive. He was born in Rotterdam, where he was apparently active as a landscape and figure painter – in this picture, he combines both. The work was once attributed to Jan Wijnants, whose dune landscapes it recalls (look at A Landscape with a High Dune and Peasants on a Road for example).
A well-dressed man in a gold-coloured coat with a white collar and red sleeve sits on a fallen tree. There are sheep and goats on the rise ahead of him. Further ahead, almost lost in the stunted trees, are two small houses; beyond them, beneath a broken sky, the lonely dunes stretch away towards the sea.
The man’s dog looks up at him and a grey horse waits patiently for him to resume his journey. But the horse has a heavy collar and no stirrups; perhaps it has been harnessed to a cart or wagon. On one side of the central group is a large, broken wheel – perhaps telling part of the story, but the rest of the vehicle is nowhere to be seen.
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