Dune Landscape with a Signal Post
c. 1651 - c. 1653
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
24.4; 30.2
About this artwork
Landschap met een seinpaal bij een boerenhuis op de oever van een rivier. Op de voorgrond en links gaan enkele figuren over een landweg.
Art Historical Context
Philips Wouwerman, a leading Dutch Golden Age painter active in Haarlem, created this intimate oil-on-panel landscape around 1651–1653. Known for his atmospheric views populated by figures and horses, Wouwerman here depicts a quiet stretch of dunes a riverbank, where signal post stands near a modest farmhouse. The modest scale—barely larger than sheet of paper—invites close viewing, typical of the cabinet-sized works favored by 17th-century collectors. The scene blends everyday activity with subtle narrative detail: travelers move along a winding country road while the signal post hints at th...
About the Artist
Philips Wouwerman
Specialized in military and hunting scenes in which horses are prominent. Son of a little known painter in Alkmaar, Paul Joosten Wouwerman. Philips died at the age of 48 reportedly as the result of an accident, having created a large number of landscapes, battle scenes and the elegant life of his time, set in castles, parties, hunting, huntsmen and prized horses.