Summer was painted by Jan van Goyen in 1625-01-01.

What movement is Summer?

Summer is associated with Dutch Golden Age.

Can I buy a print of Summer?

Museum-quality prints of Summer are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Summer

Jan van Goyen , 1625

Summer is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan van Goyen. It dates from 1625 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The calm mood and muted palette suggest a moment of summer stillness rather than dramatic seasonal change.

The painting depicts a quiet, lowland riverscape under a clouded sky, with a single gnarled tree on the left and a distant windmill silhouetted against the horizon.

The composition emphasizes the Dutch Golden Age convention of rendering the flat polders and meandering waterways of the Netherlands, evoking the seasonal cycle and the land’s utility to agriculture and trade. The calm mood and muted palette suggest a moment of summer stillness rather than dramatic seasonal change.

Technique & Style

Jan van Goyen's Summer (1625) is a landscape painting executed in oil paint on a panel support. Measuring 33.5 cm by 33.5 cm, the work belongs to the Dutch Golden Age movement and depicts a tree within a natural setting. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.

History & Provenance

Summer is a small-scale landscape panel painted by Jan van Goyen in 1625, executed in oil on a 33.5 by 33.5 cm support. The work entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains held and on view. No intermediate ownership history, commission details, or earlier provenance is documented in the available sources.

The painting's inception is dated to 1625, aligning with the early phase of van Goyen's career as a Dutch Golden Age landscape painter. The square format and modest dimensions are consistent with the cabinet-sized panels he produced during this period, though the sources do not elaborate on the circumstances of its creation or its path from the artist's studio to the Rijksmuseum.

Overview

Created in 1625, Summer is an oil painting by Jan van Goyen, a leading Dutch landscape artist of the 17th century. The work shows a quiet summer setting dominated by a solitary, leafy tree, with a modest village scene and distant structures such as a windmill and church steeple. It is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.