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Lot Essay
Van Goyen painted a number of views of Arnhem, which are dated between 1633 and 1647 (Beck, op. cit., II, pp. 131-141, nos. 272-289). The present work, which is dated 1643, shares the subtle golden tonality typical of his finest works from the early 1640s. Here the choppy Rhine, the boats and the townscape, all set beneath a massive cloudy sky, are unified into one atmospheric whole.
Arnhem, the capital of Gelderland, lies on the Neder Rijn (Rhine) not far from the German border. It was taken from the Spanish in 1585 and the following year Elizabeth I's gallant courtier, the English poet Sir Philip Sidney, died there of wounds received near Zutphen. When van Goyen painted Arnhem, it still had its ramparts, which were demolished after Louis XIV took the city in 1672. Visible in van Goyen's painting, just to the right of centre, is the massive tower of the Grote Kerk (St. Eusabius), founded by Duke Arnold of Egmont in 1452. To the left of the Grote Kerk are the twin towers of Saint Walburgiskerk, a gothic church of 1422.
Arnhem, the capital of Gelderland, lies on the Neder Rijn (Rhine) not far from the German border. It was taken from the Spanish in 1585 and the following year Elizabeth I's gallant courtier, the English poet Sir Philip Sidney, died there of wounds received near Zutphen. When van Goyen painted Arnhem, it still had its ramparts, which were demolished after Louis XIV took the city in 1672. Visible in van Goyen's painting, just to the right of centre, is the massive tower of the Grote Kerk (St. Eusabius), founded by Duke Arnold of Egmont in 1452. To the left of the Grote Kerk are the twin towers of Saint Walburgiskerk, a gothic church of 1422.