Wooded Landscape
1648
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Antonie Waterloo
Antonie Waterloo (1609–1690) was a Dutch artist, born in Lille.
See the richer artist page1648
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Wooded Landscape is a 1648 by Antonie Waterloo, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You’re looking at a dark forest of tall, twisted trees with a sliver of sky peeking through the branches. The trees feel alive—some trunks are thick and gnarled, others thin and swaying. Waterloo made this with wet charcoal over dry chalk, which lets him smudge the lines just enough to catch the flicker of sunlight. He even dabbed white wash in the middle to fake the glow of the sun behind the leaves. Most of his work was sold as finished drawings, not just sketches. If you like this, try looking up *sfumato*—it’s a similar smoky blending trick.
Known exclusively for his drawings and prints, the Dutch artist Anthonie Waterloo specialized in tree studies and dense forest scenes such as this drawing. Here he created a vista through groupings of tall trees, producing the effect of shimmering light and movement with his unique technique of using wet charcoal over dry chalk. He added a subtle white wash throughout the center of the composition to create the hint of the sun’s glow beyond the trees. Such a work would have been sold as a finished work of art.
Studies of dense forests and individual trees were a specialty of Dutch artists in the 1600s.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Antonie Waterloo (1609–1690) was a Dutch artist, born in Lille.
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