A village landscape with figures at a well

Jan van Goyen was one of the most prolific and influential landscapists of the Dutch Golden Age. Having studied in Haarlem with Esaias van de Velde in 1617-18, van Goyen’s early works display the influence of the elder artist. However, around 1626 van Goyen opted instead for a specifically Dutch style of landscape painting that emphasized tonality and a faithful depiction of the local terrain. The present painting is a striking example of van Goyen’s activities in the early 1630s, a period in which he painted mostly dune landscapes with rivers or streams conceived largely in greens and earth tones. As is typical of these works, van Goyen here succeeded in creating a sense of movement and recession into depth through the pronounced diagonal created by the row of trees receding in the background.