Artwork
Italian landscape with figures
Italian landscape with figures is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Johannes Lingelbach. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum. Created circa 1650, this oil painting by Johannes Lingam Bach presents a tranquil rural scene set along a narrow country lane.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The emphasis on rustic life and the inclusion of a horse suggest themes of travel, commerce, or leisure common to Dutch Italianate landscapes of the period.
The painting depicts an Italianate landscape populated with small figures and a horse. The genre scene emphasizes everyday activity rather than overt religious or mythological narrative, situating the horse and figures within a verdant setting of trees and distant hills. The emphasis on rustic life and the inclusion of a horse suggest themes of travel, commerce, or leisure common to Dutch Italianate landscapes of the period.
The modest scale and composition frame the scene as a picturesque vignette rather than a grand historical or classical subject, aligning with Lingelbach’s known output of Italianate landscapes that evoke the ambiance of the Italian countryside for a northern European audience.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting executed on canvas, measuring 34.5 cm in height by 36.5 cm in width. It portrays a horse and a tree within an Italianate landscape, employing the compositional and stylistic conventions typical of 17th‑century Dutch landscape painting. The surface bears the characteristic handling of oil on canvas from the period, reflecting Lingelbach’s precise brushwork and attention to atmospheric detail.
History & Provenance
The oil painting Italian landscape with figures by Johannes Lingelbach was created in 1650. Executed on canvas, the work measures 34.5 cm in height and 36.5 cm in width. It depicts a landscape scene featuring horses and trees, characteristic of the artist's genre specialization.
The painting is currently held within the collection of the Rijksmuseum, specifically under the Dienst Verspreide Rijkscollectives, and is also associated with Museum Gouda. The work remains part of the national heritage holdings managed by these Dutch institutions.
Overview
Created circa 1650, this oil painting by Johannes Lingam Bach presents a tranquil rural scene set along a narrow country lane. The composition features a small group of travelers, figures on foot, a woman seated on a donkey, a man in a red vest, and a child, accompanied by pack animals and modest cargo. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and exemplifies the landscape genre popular among Dutch painters working in Rome during the mid‑seventeenth century.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Johannes (or Johann) Lingelbach (1622 – 3 November 1674) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, associated with the second generation of Bambocciate, a group of genre painters working in Rome from 1625–1700.
