Jan van Goyen
Leiden 1596 - The Hague 1656

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Scene with river and inn (1630)(AZ)


River with landscape


Portrait of Jan van Goyen by Carel de Moor, from a work of Gerard ter Borch(HS143)



links:
Jan Steen-van Goyen (CBG176)(HS308)
van Goyen - Jacques de Clauw(CBG)
Joseph van Goyen - Cornelis van Goyen

painter, draughtsman, art-dealer. (HS308)
made landscapes and cityscapes.(HS308)

Jan van Goyen and Salomon Van Ruysdael have contributed to the creation of the primitive school of dutch landscapes. Jan van Goyen is the father-in-law and the professor of the dutch genre painter Jan Steen. As a young man, Van Goyen goes to France before criss-crossing Holland. During these voyages, he makes sketches and drawings of a great number of identifiable view points, which he will use later in his compositions. After 1630, his work undergoes a major evolution. He simplifies his compositions and begins to adopt a quasi-monochrome palette. His best works will have richer colours and show a poetic sensibility which we shall meet again with the next generation of dutch landscape painters, like Jacob Van Ruisdael. His vast number of paintings didn't prevent his bankrupcy at his death. This scene at the river with an inn, presents us a typical landscape in earth colours. Van Goyen looks at the horizon, as low as possible and at the reflection on the water surface. The person sitting on the barage gives this work an contemplative atmosphere, while the warmth of the setting sun reinforces its nostalgic impact.(AZ)

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