Who painted The Lake of Zurich?

The Lake of Zurich was painted by Jan Hackaert in 1660-01-01.

Where can I see The Lake of Zurich?

The Lake of Zurich is held by Rijksmuseum.

What movement is The Lake of Zurich?

The Lake of Zurich is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

The Lake of Zurich by Jan Hackaert (1660) · Meaning & Museum

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The composition centers on the interplay between water and alpine terrain, reflecting the seventeenth-century Dutch interest in foreign topography.

The painting depicts a view of Lake Zurich set against a mountainous backdrop. As a landscape work, it presents the natural scenery of the Swiss lake and surrounding peaks without overt narrative or figural elements. The composition centers on the interplay between water and alpine terrain, reflecting the seventeenth-century Dutch interest in foreign topography.

The choice of a Swiss subject by a Dutch artist suggests the era's expanding geographical curiosity and the growing genre of European landscape painting that moved beyond local settings.

Technique & Style

The Lake of Zurich is painted in oil on canvas, measuring 82 cm in height and 145 cm in width. The handling reflects the conventions of 17th-century Dutch landscape painting, with fine, layered brushwork used to articulate foliage, water, and distant mountains. The composition balances naturalistic detail with atmospheric depth, employing a muted palette dominated by greens and blues to convey the reflective surface of the lake and surrounding terrain.

Stylistic features include a carefully observed foreground of trees and rocks, a middle ground with figures and boats, and a receding background of softly modeled mountains under a subdued sky.

History & Provenance

The Lake of Zurich by Jan Hackaert is dated to 1660 and is an oil painting on canvas measuring 82 cm in height and 145 cm in width. The work entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it remains held under accession by the museum. In the year of its creation, the painting was owned by Gijsbert de Clercq, a documented early owner whose name is associated with the work’s early provenance.

Jan Hackaert's The Lake of Zurich, painted in 1660, is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The work is executed in oil on canvas and depicts a landscape featuring mountains and the eponymous lake. While the painting was previously owned by Gijsbert de Clercq, the source material does not specify the museum's inventory or accession number, nor does it detail a history of exhibitions for this specific piece.

Overview

Jan Hackaert’s oil painting, dated 1660, presents a tranquil lakeside scene identified as Lake Zurich. The composition centers on the placid water, bordered by distant mountains and modest vegetation in the foreground, conveying a calm natural environment.