Jan Josefsz. van Goyen* (1596-1656)

A river Landscape with Passengers and Cows on a Ferry near a thatched Cottage

Details

Jan Josefsz. van Goyen* (1596-1656)
Goyen, J.
A river Landscape with Passengers and Cows on a Ferry near a thatched Cottage
signed and dated 'VGOYEN 1634'
oil on canvas
44.3/8 x 59in. (112.6 x 151.8cm.)

Provenance

Ralph Allen (died 1764), Prior Park, Bath.
Alter Family.
R.T. Woodman; Christie's, London, June 9, 1944, lot 91 (750gns. to Hughes).
Anon. Sale, Christie's, London, Oct. 19, 1951, lot 17 (1000gns.).
with P. de Boer, Amsterdam, (exhibited in Delft, 1952, no. 21, illustrated).

Literature

H.-U. Beck, Jan van Goyen, 1973, II, p. 221, no. 459, illustrated.

Lot Essay

The subject of river landscapes was to be a constant during Jan van Goyen's life, and while his handling of paint was to develop, the basic composition was to remain consistent throughout. By 1631, van Goyen began to paint the subject using a diagonal design in which, as in the present painting, the main feature is a wedge-shaped axis jutting into space thus filling the foreground with a broad stretch of water and eliminating all but a few earth colors from his palette.