Landscape with Trees and Distant View of a City
Hans Bol
Description
Gallery Rotation Winter 2014
Hans Bol
Netherlands, Flemish, 1534–1593
Landscape with Trees and Distant View of a City
1588
Ink and wash
Museum purchase, 1959/1.124
Hans Bol’s intricately detailed work often presents mythological, allegorical, and biblical scenes. In this drawing, nature takes precedence, with large trees monumentalized in the foreground while a town appears in the distance. Though etchings and engravings were often made after Bol’s works, this composition may not have been intended to be transferred into the print medium. The quick and detailed lines that define the varied natural forms lack the cross-hatching and stippling found in works designed to be copied as an engraving.
Subject Matter:
Hans Bol was one of the Netherlands' most successful landscape artists during the 16th century. He did many drawings that were a basis for engravings, ranging from large panoramas to miniature views of the countryside.
Physical Description:
This is a brown pen and gray wash drawing in a horizontal format. It shows a sweeping landscape scene with a wooded area in the foreground and distant mountains in the background. In the lower left corner, there is a group of three figures seated among tall trees with full foliage. There are other groups of people positioned in this wooded area. Beyond the trees, there is a rural village with thatched roof buildings, church steeples and windmills. Farmland extends out into a distant mountain range on the right.
Usage Rights:
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