Artwork
Ferry-boat
Ferry-boat is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jan Victors. It dates from 1660 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The presence of the livestock suggests a connection to farming and market activity, while the calm setting invites contemplation of ordinary labor.
The painting depicts a ferry transporting a horse, a cow, and a sheep across a body of water. As a genre scene, it captures an everyday moment of rural transport and livestock handling. The focus on the ferry highlights its role in moving animals and goods, reflecting the importance of waterways for trade and agriculture.
The presence of the livestock suggests a connection to farming and market activity, while the calm setting invites contemplation of ordinary labor.
Technique & Style
The Ferry-boat (1660) is an oil painting on canvas measuring 85 cm by 118 cm, created in the Netherlands by Jan Victors. Executed in oil paint, the work depicts a ferry alongside a horse, cow, and sheep, reflecting a genre scene typical of Dutch painting. Its formal qualities include careful handling of light and composition, characteristic of the mid‑17th‑century style.
The painting is part of the Hermitage Museum collection in St. Petersburg, where it remains on display.
History & Provenance
Ferry-boat is dated to 1660 and is recorded as a painting by Jan Victors in oil on canvas measuring 85 × 118 cm.
The work entered the collection of the Hermitage Museum, where it remains located. Its provenance within the museum’s holdings is documented from the date of creation forward.
Jan Victors' oil painting Ferry-boat, created in 1660, is part of the permanent collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The work, measuring 85 cm in height and 118 cm in width, depicts a ferry scene populated with horses, cows, and sheep. While the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available records, the museum holds the piece as a significant example of Dutch genre art from the mid-17th century. No specific exhibition history or loan records are documented in the provided sources.
Overview
Jan Victors’ 1660 oil painting Ferry‑boat presents a lively river crossing populated by a ferryman, passengers, and a small herd of livestock. The composition captures a moment of everyday travel, with a horse‑rider observing the crowded vessel, a woman clutching a basket, and a figure leaning over the side, all set against a distant village and a storm‑clouded sky.
Context
The painting emerges from the Dutch Golden Age, a time of economic prosperity and extensive inland navigation. River transport was essential for moving goods and people, and scenes like this reflect the social importance of waterways. Victors’ choice of a modest, secular subject aligns with contemporary artistic trends that favored depictions of everyday life over overtly religious iconography.
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan Victors (or Fictor; 1619 – 1676) was a Dutch Golden Age painter mainly of history paintings of Biblical scenes, with some genre scenes.
