Herengracht, Amsterdam
1661
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1661
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Dominant colour
Herengracht, Amsterdam is a 1661 unspecified by Jan Wijnants, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see a wide canal lined with tall trees and fancy brick houses under a soft, cloudy sky. This is one of the first paintings to make a canal the star of the scene. The artist mapped the real Herengracht so carefully you can still recognize the spot today. Look close—on the left, there’s a lumber yard where a famous architect later built four big houses. If you like this quiet city view, try more paintings of the Netherlands.
This painting is the first depiction of Amsterdam in which a canal is given prominence. Flanked by picturesque, tree-lined avenues and exquisite mansions, the Herengracht (Gentleman's Canal) was one of Amsterdam's most important waterways. The precision with which Jan Wijnants portrayed the topography of the city enables the viewer to witness the development of this location. To the left of the canal, Wijnants depicted a lumber yard, on which, in 1662, the architect Philip Vingoboons built four houses for the merchant Jacob Cromhout. Furthermore, soon after Wijanants completed this painting…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Jan Wijnants (1632–1684) was an artist, born in Haarlem.
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