Italian Landscape with Travelers
c. 1650
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
49.5 × 61 cm (19 1/2 × 24 in.); Framed: 69.2 × 81 × 5.4 cm (27 1/4 × 31 7/8 × 2 1/8 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Department
Painting and Sculpture of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
69041
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Jan Both here offered an inroad to the verdant Roman countryside. The path, populated with rustic figures and livestock, winds through rolling hills toward a serene harbor below. Hazy yellow light, perhaps that of the sunrise, glows atop distant periwinkle mountains. Both spent several years in Rome with a group of Dutch and Flemish artists called the Bentvueghels (a Dutch term for “birds of a feather”). On his return to Utrecht, he helped pioneer the “Italianate” landscape, presenting the fant...
About the Artist
Jan Both · 1618–1652
Jan Both was born in Utrecht around 1618 into an artistically rich environment: his father was a glass painter, and his brother Andries was also a painter with whom he would collaborate during their formative years in Italy. Jan trained under Abraham Bloemaert, one of the most versatile and influential artists working in Utrecht, before traveling to Rome — a journey that would prove decisive for h...