River Scene with Towboat
1653
Medium
Black chalk washed with India ink.
Dimensions
4 11/16 x 8 7/16 in. (11.9 x 21.4 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1907
Accession Number
07.282.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jan van Goyen's *River Scene with Towboat* (1653) captures the serene tranquility of a Dutch river landscape during the Golden Age, a period when artists turned their gaze to the natural world and everyday life. Rendered in black chalk washed with India ink on a modest 4 11/16 x 8 7/16 in. sheet, this intimate drawing depicts a towboat gliding along the water, guided by horses on the bank amid trees and distant boats. Van Goyen, a master of the Dutch realistic landscape tradition, favored such monochromatic sketches as preparatory studies or standalone works, evoking the hazy atmosphere of the...
About the Artist
Jan van Goyen · 1596–1656
Important Dutch landscapist known for his so-called 'tonal style'. Comment on works: Landscapes; Marines; Views.