Panoramic View of a River with Low-lying Meadows by Jan van Goyen

Panoramic View of a River with Low-lying Meadows after 1644

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painting, oil-paint

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dutch-golden-age

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painting

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oil-paint

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landscape

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cityscape

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realism

Dimensions: support height 31.3 cm, support width 44.6 cm, outer size depth 4.5 cm

Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain

Jan van Goyen made this painting of a Dutch river scene on a wood panel, likely oak, using oil paints. The limited palette of muted greens, browns, and grays gives the work its character. It reflects the readily available pigments, as well as the artist’s aesthetic. The thin paint layers, applied with fluid brushstrokes, create a sense of atmospheric perspective. The materiality speaks to the economic realities of 17th-century Dutch painting, where artists often worked efficiently to meet market demands. Consider the labor involved in producing such a painting: from grinding pigments to preparing the wood panel, each step required skill and time. The subject of the work, a busy waterway dotted with boats and windmills, points to the centrality of trade and industry in the Dutch Golden Age. By paying attention to the materials, the making process, and the broader social context, we can gain a deeper understanding of this seemingly simple landscape painting.

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Comments

rijksmuseum's Profile Picture
rijksmuseum over 1 year ago

Jan van Goyen painted the Dutch landscape in all of its myriad facets: from cities and villages to the sea and rivers, from hilly dunes to sprawling polders and holmes (flat ground near a river submerged in times of flood). Here some people on a hill in the left foreground look across an extensive river landscape. Van Goyen reserved a tremendous amount of space for the imposing cloudy sky looming above the low land.

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