The Huis ten Bosch at The Hague and Its Formal Garden (View from the East)
ca. 1668–70
Medium
Oil on wood
Dimensions
15 3/8 x 21 5/8 in. (39.1 x 54.9 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Department
European Paintings
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edith Neuman de Végvár, in honor of her husband, Charles Neuman de Végvár, 1964
Accession Number
64.65.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Jan van der Heyden’s *The Huis ten Bosch at The Hague and Its Formal Garden (View from the East)* captures the elegant symmetry of one of the Dutch Republic’s most celebrated palaces. Painted around 1668–70 in oil on wood, the small panel invites viewers to stroll through meticulously arranged parterres and neatly clipped hedges toward the stately residence, built in the 1640s as a retreat for the House of Orange. The intimate scale—roughly the size of a large book—encourages close looking, rewarding the eye with tiny figures, crisp reflections in the water, and precisely rendered architectura...
About the Artist
Jan van der Heyden · 1637–1712
Dutch painter best known for depicting cityscapes. Comment on works: Landscapes; Views; Architecture