River View, Abraham van Beyeren, c. 1643 - c. 1650 – (Abraham Hendrickz. Van Beyeren) ◄ prijašnji Sljedeći ►

Umjetnik: Abraham Hendrickz. Van Beyeren

Datum: 1650

Veličina: 72 x 96 cm

Tehnika: Oil On Panel

Typically rendered with loose brushstrokes that seem rapidly applied, River View is an excellent example of Abraham van Beyeren’s contribution to the genre of river and marine scenes. That he was strongly influenced by Jan van Goyen’s seascapes from the late 1630s, which were executed in the same monochrome manner, is beyond doubt. The only element that breaks the monotony of browns and greys is the man wearing a red jacket in the rowing boat. The sun is covered by heavy clouds which permit only a slight illumination of the waves in a band leading from the right half of the foreground diagonally to the town across the river. In this respect Van Beyeren’s work differs from that of Van Goyen, who usually painted horizontal stretches of light strongly set off from the shady foreground.6 This picture probably belongs to the first phase of Van Beyeren’s career. His only two dated works in this genre were made in 1641 and 1649.7 Moreover, the dendrochronology suggests a possible execution of the painting sometime after 1643.8 Van Beyeren’s marines are much sought after by collectors, particularly since the early twentieth century. Critics have praised his flickering brushwork, the pictorial qualities of his cloud formations and his impressionistic manner, which was considered very advanced for the period.9 Financial motives may have shaped his style in addition to artistic ones, for his economical use of pigments and rapid brushwork would have given him a high turnover.10 The Rijksmuseum’s River View is a typical example of this. Although thick impasto was used for the highlights and the peaks of the waves, the ground is visible through the thin paint layer in many places.11 The same frugality is also apparent in Van Beyeren’s choice of motifs: identical inshore vessels recur time and again, as does the church in the background.12 The latter has often been identified as Dordrecht’s Grote Kerk, but the artist’s river scenes are never topographically accurate and the background only vaguely recalls that town. Erlend de Groot, 2022 See Key to abbreviations, Rijksmuseum painting catalogues and Acknowledgements