1622
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Village on a River is a 1622 by Jan Jansz den Uyl, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a quiet Dutch village hugging a winding river, sketched in ink and touched with soft watercolors. This little drawing was probably made just for fun—Den Uyl was mostly known for painting still lifes, not landscapes. At the time, artists rarely sketched outdoors, so this feels like a personal moment, not a study for a bigger work. If you like this cozy scene, look up the subject of netherlands for more peaceful village views.
This small sheet by Jan Jansz. den Uyl shows the Amsterdam artist recording a scene that he probably encountered during a walk outside the city. Once back in his studio, he embellished the view with watercolors in blue, green, gray, and ochre. In the 1620s, when this was made, sketching landscape scenes on-site was still relatively new in the Netherlands. The drawing does not relate to any known work by Den Uyl, who was a noted still life painter, and he probably made it for his own pleasure.
In the 1620s, when this small drawing was made, sketching landscape scenes en plein air (on-site) was still relatively new in the Netherlands.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Jan Jansz. den Uyl (Utrecht (?), 1595/96 – 24 November 1639) was a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. He very much specialized in the form of still life known as the breakfast piece, or, in the elaborate style of painters…
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
