Gedeelte van het Colosseum met een ezeldrijver
1635 - 1646
Medium
brush
Dimensions
277; 237
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
penseel in bruin over schets in zwart krijt of grafiet
Art Historical Context
Jan Asselijn's *Gedeelte van het Colosseum met een ezeldrijver* (Part of the Colosseum with a Donkey Driver), created between 1635 and 1646, captures a vivid slice of ancient Rome's grandeur amid everyday life. The Dutch artist, who spent much of his career in Italy as part of the Bentvueghels artist fraternity, was renowned for his luminous landscapes and detailed Roman vedute—topographical views that romanticized classical ruins. Here, the weathered arches of the Colosseum frame a humble donkey driver, blending monumental architecture with human scale in a style influenced by the emerging Baroque interest in light, atmosphere, and narrative detail. This intimate drawing, measuring just 277 × 237 mm, showcases Asselijn's masterful technique: a preliminary sketch in black chalk or graphite, overlaid with fluid brown brushwork (penseel in bruin). Such preparatory studies were common among 17th-century Northern artists in Rome, serving as on-site notations for larger oil paintings. The brown wash adds depth and tonal modeling, evoking the play of sunlight on stone and evoking a sense of timeless decay. As a window into the Grand Tour era, this work highlights the cultural fascination with antiquity among Dutch travelers. It reminds visitors how artists like Asselijn preserved Rome's fading glory, influencing later Romantic painters and our modern appreciation for historic preservation. A gem of technical precision and poetic observation!
About the Artist
Jan Asselijn · 1610–1652
Jan Asselijn (c. 1610–1652), born Jean Asselin in Dieppe, France, to a Huguenot family, emerged as a leading figure in Dutch Golden Age landscape painting. His family relocated to Amsterdam around 1621, where he began his artistic training. He received instruction from Esaias van de Velde, a pioneering realist landscapist, and later studied with Jan Martszen the Younger, Esaias's nephew, producing...