Description

Dune landscapes were a subject of great interest in seventeenth-century Netherlands, among the earliest subjects for independent landscape. They were the bread-and-butter speciality for Wijnants, whose far more unusual Amsterdam canal scene is also in the collection of the CMA.

Provenance

Comte Pillet-Will; King of Sicily; Leicester of Terry; by 1835 Thomas Hardman (Manchester, England) [possibly sold, Winstanley and Sons, Manchester, October 19, 1838]; - 1872 Etienne Arago, 1802-1892 (Paris, France), sold, February 2, 1872, lot 80; Comtesse de Puymodon (Paris, France); by 1965 Julius Böhler (Munich, West Germany), sold to Paul J. Vignos, Jr., 1965.; 1965-2010; Paul J. Vignos, Jr., died 2010 (Gates Mills, Ohio), upon his death, held in trust by the estate.; 2010 Estate of Paul J. Vignos, Jr.

Landscape with Hunters

Jan Wijnants

c. 1660–80

Accession Number

2011.48

Medium

oil on canvas

Dimensions

Framed: 53 x 58 x 5.8 cm (20 7/8 x 22 13/16 x 2 5/16 in.); Unframed: 36.8 x 44.1 cm (14 1/2 x 17 3/8 in.)

Classification

Painting

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Bequest of Dr. Paul J. Vignos Jr.

Background & Context

Background Story

Landscape with Hunters from c. 1660-80 is a characteristic Wijnants subject, depicting a sandy dune landscape with hunters and their dogs in the foreground, a compositional type that became one of the most popular landscape formats in 17th-century Dutch painting. The sandy path leading into the distance is Wijnants's signature compositional device, creating a receding vista that leads the eye through the landscape, and the hunters in the foreground provide the genre detail that makes Dutch landscape painting such an invaluable record of 17th-century social life.

Cultural Impact

Wijnants's landscape with hunters is one of the most important compositional types in 17th-century Dutch landscape painting because it established the format of sandy path with figures that would be imitated by dozens of painters. Landscape with Hunters demonstrates Wijnants's ability to combine landscape with genre detail—hunters and dogs in the foreground provide the social information, while the receding landscape provides the aesthetic pleasure—creating a type that satisfied both the Dutch taste for landscape beauty and the Dutch demand for social detail.

Why It Matters

Landscape with Hunters is Wijnants establishing his signature format: a sandy dune landscape with hunters and dogs in the foreground, the sandy path leading the eye into the distance. The c. 1660-80 painting combines landscape beauty with genre detail in a compositional type that would be imitated throughout 17th-century Dutch painting.

Related Artworks

Herengracht, Amsterdam