Landscape with Animals 1650 - 1694

Editor: So, here we have "Landscape with Animals" by Willem Romeyn, dating from the mid-to-late 17th century, rendered in oil on, I assume, canvas. It feels very grounded, very...earthy. There's this sense of pastoral calm. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: The earth pigments, definitely. Think about the sourcing, the grinding, the mixing – all labor, reflecting the value placed on depicting "nature". This wasn’t just conjured from thin air; this was made using specific, often scarce, materials, available via trade, from a certain economic status, influencing the hues we see. Do you consider the accessibility of these colors relevant? Editor: I guess I hadn’t considered that. It makes the brown tones feel almost... intentional, like a commentary in themselves? Curator: Precisely! This wasn’t some spontaneous outflowing of artistic genius, but a structured production utilizing very particular materials. Furthermore, look at the implied textures created with oil paint: the wool of the sheep, the rough bark of the trees. How are these natural commodities and how are they valued materially in that Dutch Golden Age context? Editor: That's true, depicting commodities so realistically must have appealed to patrons at the time. It seems the artist highlighted materials at multiple levels. Curator: Exactly. Romeyn uses the materials of painting, such as the oil paint itself, to represent, comment and engage with the materials that shaped 17th-century Dutch society and how landscape shaped material life for farmers and merchants. So the focus becomes less about individual genius, and more about economic realities being made visible via those material decisions, right? Editor: That makes so much sense. I am re-evaluating all landscape painting now. Curator: And perhaps re-evaluating landscape itself! Editor: Thanks!