Oil painting, 'Landscape with Stream', Jan van Goyen, 1628

A landscape with a stream and two figures on a small boat, a wooden bridge behind; a bunch of trees and branches hide a thatched roof on the right.

Bequeathed by Captain H. B. Murray

Bequeathed by Captain H. B. Murray, 1910

Historical significance: Jan van Goyen is famous for his tonal river scenes and seascapes that long influenced Dutch painters, in which a high cloudy sky contrasts with flat terrain and distant boats or buildings, an essential characteristic that can be also found in his large production of drawings. However his early production was inspired by the Haarlem landscape painter Esaias van de Velde (1587-1630), with whom he trained and also collaborated in few occasions. The connection between the two painters is important as van de Velde appears as the one who contributed to break away the somewhat stylised tradition of landscape and to introduce a more natural feeling for space and atmosphere in contrast with the previous tradition inherited from Peter Brueghel the Elder (1525/30-1569). These qualities will soon become characteristics of the Haarlem school.
This painting is a good example of the mature production of van Goyen in the early 1630s when he started to depart slowly from the influence of Esaias van de Velde. He still use brown and green tones typical of van de Velde palette and a quite close point of view but he introduced diagonals elements that improve the sense of depth. This painting is indeed quite close in style with Landscape with wagons, dated 1632, Westfries Museum, Hoorn, in which he tends to give a greater dimension to the open air. During his last period during which he developed his most famous marine paintings depicted in a silvery-grey palette with impressive pictorial achievement, he would eventually going back to such composition as in Landscape with a bridge dated 1655, Private collection.
Despite his large output, 1200 paintings and 800 drawings, Jan van Goyen never received great commissions nor did he have success among his contemporaries. It is not until the third quarter of the 19th century that he was internationally rediscovered. He nonetheless had a great influence on Dutch landscape painters, especially in the early landscapes of Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1691).

Landscape paintings were extremely popular during the 17th century and increasingly encompassed a variety of forms and genres. Dutch painters had a new attention for nature and their familiar surroundings as well as more exotic locales that Dutch travellers encountered such as Italy. In the early 1600s, innovative contributions to landscape paintings were made, especially by the marine painters who concentrate on the effects of light due to atmospheric condition and the sense of depth and had a great resonance on landscape painting. Panoramic views became popular in the 17th-century Netherlands and views of the Dutch countryside developed quickly, especially under the influence of Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) who developed a broken brushwork technique and used a restrained monochromatic palette of earthy colours. The end of the 17th century is remarkable for a shift in taste that came to favour more academic and classical landscapes under the influence of Italianate landscape paintings. Landscapes were then often employed as settings for mythological or historical subjects.

Jan van Goyen (1596-1656) was a prolific painter and draughtsman (1200 paintings and 800 drawings) but he did not gain recognition until the late 19th century.
Among his pupils were the famous genre painter Jan Steen (1626-1679) who was also his son-in-law, and the Italianate landscapist Nicolaes Berchem (1620-1683).

This painting showing a landscape with a stream and two figures on a small boat, a wooden bridge behind, belongs to the end of van Goyen's first period; that is until the early 1630s, and witnesses the new attention for nature and their familiar surroundings in 17th century Dutch art. In this picture, one can still feel the influence of his master, the great landscape painter Esaias van de Velde who used a palette dominated by brown and green tones and compositions depicted from a rather close point of view. In this painting, which follows roughly the same scheme as his master's, van Goyen introduced diagonals features such as the river stream, a pictorial solution he would particularly favour in the following decade so as to widen his compositions and enhance the sense of depth. This painting, which date had long been debated, is quite close in style to Landscape with wagons, dated 1632, Westfries Museum, Hoorn, in which he however gave a greater dimension to the open air.

P.40-1910