An extensive view of The Hague with the Grote Kerk in the distance

Cityscapes formed an important part of van Goyen’s artistic activity from 1633, the year of his earliest dated paintings of this type (see Beck, op. cit., II, nos. 272, 290 and 342), until the year before his death (op. cit., no. 396). However, the majority of these works, which account for roughly fifteen percent of his known paintings, were executed in the 1640s. Views of Arnheim, Dordrecht, Nijmegen and Rhenen predominate, with comparatively fewer views of major artistic centres like Leiden, The Hague and Amsterdam, the last of which is known exclusively through a late painting of 1655 (op. cit., no. 421).

The comparative scarcity of depictions of The Hague–Beck records only nine such views (op. cit., nos. 324-332)–is particularly surprising in light of the artist’s long-term residence in the city, where he settled in 1631 and largely resided until his death. Van Goyen’s earliest view of The Hague dates to 1637, with further dated examples known until 1653. The present example, much like the majority of van Goyen’s depictions of The Hague, shows the city from a distance, with the tower of the city’s Grote Kerk dominating the skyline. To its right can be seen the tower of the old city hall. Van Goyen had painted a near identical view of The Hague lacking only the foreground figures and on a smaller scale the previous year (op. cit., II, no. 324). A similar view from the southwest also appears in a somewhat larger painting dated 1644 (op. cit., no. 327) as well as a drawing datable to circa 1645, the latter of which is today in the Museum Boijmans-Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (op. cit., I, no. 607).