Summer in Holland: a panoramic view of a village in the dunes

In 1842 Andreas Schelfhout was at the height of his artistic carreer and internationally acclaimed, especially for his beautiful detailed winter landscapes. His sweeping panoramic summer landscapes and elegant beach scenes with figures were widely admired. He received numerous golden medals on the yearly 'Tentoonstelling van Leevende Meesters'. For the present panoramic landscape Schelfhout choose a raised viewpoint from which the spectator (with the artist) looks over a typical Dutch village with harvesting peasants in the foreground at the end of a warm summers day. His artistic style and technique had come to full maturity during this period and is clearly visible in for example the fine detailing in the bleaching-field, the birds circling around the church-tower and the beautifully executed play of light. The perfectly balanced composition includes all the elements, which are considered to be exemplary of the pinnacle of Dutch Romanticism.

M. Wijt wrote in the catalogue of the Dutch collector Lambertus Vincentius Ledeboer Bz. the following about this picture and entitled it 'Duin- en Dorpsgezicht': 'Fraaijer duin- en dorpsgezicht dan dit kan men zich niet voorstellen. Zonnig, goed verschiet, dunne lucht, enz., maken dit, in 1842 (zijn besten tijd) geschilderd stukje, tot een der schoonste van dezen hoogstverdienstelijken meester' (Rotterdam, 1876, p. 40, no. 113).

Another version of the composition is with Gebr. Douwes Fine Art, Amsterdam.