Village on the Bank of a River

The painting is signed and dated 1723 by Joseph van Bredael.

It first appears in records in 1752 within the collection of Adriaan Leonard van Heteren in The Hague. Upon Van Heteren’s death, the work passed to his son, Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers. This heir sold the painting on 8 June 1809, as part of the Kabinet Van Heteren Gevers, to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, where it remains in the collection.

The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It entered the museum's holdings on June 8, 1809, when it was acquired as part of the Kabinet Van Heteren Gevers, a group of 136 works purchased from Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers. The work had previously belonged to Gevers' father, Adriaan Leonard van Heteren of The Hague, who first possessed it in 1752 and bequeathed it to his son upon his death.

No specific exhibition history for this work is documented in the provided sources.

Village on the Bank of a River is a landscape painting by Joseph van Bredael dated 1723, depicting a riverside village with a standerdmolen, church tower, villagers, and boats, rendered in the style of Jan Brueghel de Oude and signed 'J. BREDA F. 1723' in the lower right corner; the work entered the collection of Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers in 1752, passed to his son, and was sold in 1809 as part of the Kabinet Van Heteren Gevers to the Rijksmuseum, where it remains on display

Scholarship situates the painting within van Bredael’s oeuvre as a continuation of 17th‑century landscape traditions while reflecting early 18th‑century Dutch genre scenes, and its stylistic affinity with Jan Brueghel de Oude has been noted in art‑historical literature; the attribution to van Bredael is confirmed by the signature and date, and the provenance from the Van Heteren family collection to the Rijksmuseum is documented in the museum’s records and contemporary sale catalogues

Joseph van Bredael’s 1723 oil painting, Village on the Bank of a River, presents a quiet riverside settlement bathed in gentle light. The composition balances a modest river, a few dwellings, and scattered trees, creating a harmonious view of everyday life. The work exemplifies the light, decorative tone typical of early‑18th‑century Rococo painting, inviting the viewer into a scene of calm leisure.