Who painted A Windy Day?

A Windy Day was painted by Jan van Goyen in 1651-01-01.

Where can I see A Windy Day?

A Windy Day is held by Detroit Institute of Arts.

What movement is A Windy Day?

A Windy Day is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of A Windy Day?

Museum-quality prints of A Windy Day are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

A Windy Day

Jan van Goyen , 1651

A Windy Day is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan van Goyen. It dates from 1651 and is held in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting shows a wide waterway crossed by a ferry, with sailboats catching the wind along the river and a village visible along the bank.

A Windy Day depicts a Dutch river landscape animated by the everyday commerce and rural life of the mid-seventeenth century. The painting shows a wide waterway crossed by a ferry, with sailboats catching the wind along the river and a village visible along the bank. Cattle appear in the scene, anchoring the composition to the pastoral rhythms of the Dutch countryside.

Together these elements present the work as a celebration of the active, wind-swept lowlands that defined the Dutch landscape tradition. The ferry, sailing vessels, and grazing livestock together evoke the interdependence of transport, trade, and agriculture in the Netherlands, while the breezy atmosphere conveys the characteristic climate of the region. The painting functions both as a naturalistic record of river life and as an emblem of the familiar Dutch countryside.

Technique & Style

Jan van Goyen's A Windy Day, created in 1651, is executed in oil paint on an oak panel support. The work measures 46.3 cm in height and 66.3 cm in width. As a landscape painting, it depicts a river scene featuring a ferry, sailboats, a village, and cattle, capturing the atmospheric conditions of a breezy day. The composition reflects the artist's characteristic approach to the genre during the mid-seventeenth century.

History & Provenance

Jan van Goyen created the oil painting A Windy Day in 1651. The work was executed on an oak panel and depicts a landscape scene featuring a ferry, river, sailboat, village, and cattle. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts in Detroit.

A Windy Day by Jan van Goyen is held by the Detroit Institute of Arts, where it forms part of the museum's collection. The work is an oil painting on oak panel, dated 1651, and depicts a river landscape with a ferry, sailboat, village, and cattle.

No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented beyond its inclusion in the Detroit Institute of Arts collection.

Overview

Jan van Goyen’s 1651 oil painting A Windy Day captures a bustling riverside tableau under a cloudy sky. A narrow dirt path winds past a modest village, its church steeple visible in the distance, while figures stroll along the bank. Small craft ferry passengers and goods on the water, and a few sailboats drift farther out, suggesting ordinary activity amid shifting weather.

Context

Van Goyen was a leading figure in Dutch landscape painting, known for his focus on atmospheric conditions such as wind, mist, and light. This work reflects his interest in portraying ordinary settings, rivers, villages, and everyday labor, while contributing to the broader 17th‑century Dutch fascination with realistic, topographical representation.