Artwork
Family group in a landscape
Family group in a landscape is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Barend Graat. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The figures are arranged in a balanced composition that underscores their unity, while the surrounding landscape reinforces themes of stability and continuity.
The painting shows a family unit gathered in an outdoor setting, a common 17th-century genre scene that emphasizes domestic harmony. The figures are arranged in a balanced composition that underscores their unity, while the surrounding landscape reinforces themes of stability and continuity. Symbolically, the outdoor setting can be read as a reference to nature's bounty and the harmonious relationship between humanity and the environment, a frequent motif in Dutch Golden Age art.
The work is catalogued as a landscape painting by Barend Graat, dated 1650, and is housed in the Rijksmuseum collection.
The painting measures 55.5 cm in height and 50 cm in width, executed in oil on canvas.
Technique & Style
Family group in a landscape is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard combination for mid-seventeenth-century Dutch cabinet pictures of its modest scale. The work measures 55.5 cm in height by 50 cm in width, a near-square format suited to an intimate figural landscape composition. Barend Graat's handling is consistent with the Dutch Italianate tradition current around 1650, situating the family group within a landscape setting rather than as a portrait against a neutral ground. The canvas support and oil medium place the painting firmly within the painterly practice of the period.
The work is held in the Rijksmuseum collection, where its condition and stylistic qualities can be assessed against comparable Dutch landscapes of the era.
History & Provenance
Barend Graat created the oil painting Family group in a landscape in 1650. The work is executed in oil on canvas and measures 55.5 cm in height by 50 cm in width. It is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
The sources do not provide specific details regarding the original commission, the initial owner, or the subsequent chain of ownership leading to its current location.
Family group in a landscape, an oil painting by Barend Graat dated 1650, is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. The work is catalogued in the museum's holdings as a landscape painting executed in oil on canvas.
No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented for the painting beyond its current placement within the Rijksmuseum collection.
Overview
Family group in a landscape is a circa 1650 oil painting by Dutch Golden Age artist Barend Graat, housed in the Rijksmuseum. It features a somberly dressed trio - two adults and one child - set against a rural backdrop of trees, sky, and distant water.
Context
Part of the broader Dutch Golden Age art movement, this painting sits alongside Graat's diverse oeuvre, which included religious, landscape, and portrait works, catering to the period's strong market for various artistic genres.
Legacy
As part of the Rijksmuseum's holdings, Family group in a landscape contributes to the museum's representation of Dutch Golden Age art, offering insights into Graat's style and the era's artistic preferences.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Barend Graat (21 September 1628, Amsterdam – 4 November 1709, Amsterdam), was a Dutch painter of history- and altarpieces, landscapes and portraits in the Golden Age. He is also known as a printmaker and draughtsman.
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