An extensive Italianate Landscape with Peasants resting on a Track, a walled Town on a Hilltop beyond

Probably a native of Woerden, near Utrecht, Swanevelt first travelled to Paris in 1623 but moved soon afterwards to Rome where he worked between 1629-41 undertaking important commissions for the Papacy and Cardinal Barberini. The subtle rendering of light and the measured, lyrically classical composition of his work reflect his friendship with Claude Lorraine with whom he lived in 1627. The present painting can be compared to a signed and inscribed work sold at Sotheby's, London, July 13, 1977, lot 5 (£9,000) and dates from his second stay in Paris. It was during this period that he was appointed court painter to Louis XIV.