Moonlit Landscape with Bridge
probably 1648/1650
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
overall: 78.4 x 110.2 cm (30 7/8 x 43 3/8 in.) framed: 101.6 × 132.7 × 6.4 cm (40 × 52 1/4 × 2 1/2 in.)
Classification
Painting
Department
CNE-B
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Accession Number
1990.6.1
Art Historical Context
Aert van der Neer’s *Moonlit Landscape with Bridge* captures the quiet poetry of the Dutch countryside at night. Painted around 1648–1650 during the Dutch Golden Age, the work reflects a period when the newly independent Dutch Republic enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and a growing appreciation for naturalistic landscape imagery. Van der Neer specialized in atmospheric nocturnes, becoming one of the first artists to make moonlight the central subject of his paintings rather than a mere backdrop. Executed in oil on panel, the medium allowed the artist to achieve luminous glazes and delicate to...