Artwork
Family Group in a Landscape
Family Group in a Landscape is an oil painting by the Barbizon school artist Jacques d'Arthois. It dates from 1645 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Beneath trees recalling the Sonian Forest outside Brussels, a family poses amid greenery painted by Jacques d'Arthois around 1645, the figures likely added by an unidentified Flemish collaborator. It came to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1915 with the Theodore M. Davis bequest, one of few works by this Brussels landscapist in an American public collection.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a family group set in a landscape, comprising a man, woman, boy, girl, a dog, and a bird. It is categorized as both a landscape and a family portrait, presenting the family in an outdoor environment, a common trope in 17th-century Flemish painting.
Technique & Style
The use of oil on canvas allowed for detailed rendering of both the family members and the surrounding landscape, which includes birds and vegetation.
Executed in oil on canvas, Family Group in a Landscape (1645) combines the genres of landscape and family portraiture. The work, measuring 124.8 × 152.7 cm, depicts a family group, including a man, woman, boy, girl, and a dog, set within a naturalistic landscape. The painting reflects the Baroque interest in integrating human figures into outdoor settings, typical of 17th-century Flemish art.
The use of oil on canvas allowed for detailed rendering of both the family members and the surrounding landscape, which includes birds and vegetation. No specific information on handling or condition is provided in the sources.
Overview
Family Group in a Landscape, an oil painting from approximately 1645, exemplifies the collaborative methods prevalent in Flemish Baroque art studios. Jacques d'Arthois, a prominent Brussels landscapist, rendered the expansive natural setting, while an unidentified Flemish artist contributed the figures. This arrangement results in a scene that functions as an informal portrait set within a detailed, immersive environment, showcasing the specialized skills of each painter involved in its creation.
Context
The division of artistic labor seen in this painting was a standard practice within d'Arthois's workshop and the broader Flemish Baroque tradition. D'Arthois himself, primarily a landscape and tapestry designer, often engaged other painters to populate his scenes with figures, known as staffage. Documented collaborators included artists such as David Teniers the Younger, illustrating a network of specialized talents contributing to a single artwork.
History & Provenance
This painting's documented history includes its acquisition by Theodore M. Davis, an American lawyer and philanthropist known for his extensive art collection housed at his Newport residence. Following Davis's death in 1915, the canvas was bequeathed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It remains in the museum's European Paintings department, cataloged under object number 30.95.241, and is notable as one of the few works by d'Arthois accessible in an American public collection.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jacques d'Arthois (12 October 1613 (baptised) – May 1686) was a Flemish painter and tapestry designer who specialized in wooded landscapes with figures.
