Artwork
An Extensive Wooded Landscape
An Extensive Wooded Landscape is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Philips Koninck. It dates from 1670 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The cloud imagery contributes to an atmospheric reading of the work, emphasizing the openness and depth of the sky above the trees.
An Extensive Wooded Landscape depicts a sweeping natural panorama dominated by dense woodland, with the depicted motifs identified in cataloguing records as a landscape, a boat, and cloud formations. The composition presents an expansive view of forested terrain under a cloud-filled sky, characteristic of the Dutch landscape tradition in which Koninck worked. The presence of a small boat within the broader wooded setting introduces a modest human element into an otherwise wilderness-dominated scene, suggesting the relationship between human activity and the vastness of nature.
The cloud imagery contributes to an atmospheric reading of the work, emphasizing the openness and depth of the sky above the trees. Together, these elements, woodland, watercraft, and sky, convey the period's interest in panoramic views that celebrate the scale and variety of the natural world while quietly acknowledging human presence within it.
Technique & Style
An Extensive Wooded Landscape, painted circa 1670 by Philips Koninck, is an oil painting executed on canvas. The work measures about 83.2 cm in height and 113.3 cm in width, as recorded in the catalog entry. Its subject matter includes a wooded vista with a small boat and clouds, situating it within the Dutch landscape genre.
The painting is classified as a landscape and is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. These formal elements reflect the use of oil pigment on a canvas support, producing a detailed yet atmospheric depiction of natural scenery.
History & Provenance
An Extensive Wooded Landscape is a 1670 oil painting on canvas by Philips Koninck. The work was created in the Netherlands during the late 17th century and depicts a river scene with a boat and clouds. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view, and no record of a specific commission for the painting is documented in the sources consulted. The painting measures 83.2 × 113.3 cm and is classified as a landscape genre work.
An Extensive Wooded Landscape (c. 1670) by Philips Koninck is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The painting entered the museum’s holdings and is catalogued as part of the Met’s permanent collection, though the specific accession or inventory number is not disclosed in the available documentation. Its presence in the museum’s galleries has been noted in several exhibition rotations focusing on Dutch Golden Age landscapes, but no dedicated solo exhibition dedicated solely to this work is recorded in the sources.
The work remains on view within the museum’s European paintings wing, where it is displayed alongside other 17th‑century landscape paintings.
Context
Philips Koninck’s 1670 oil painting An Extensive Wooded Landscape, accessioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exemplifies the expansive wooded scenery characteristic of Dutch 17th‑century landscape art. The work, measuring 83.2 × 113.3 cm, depicts a boat within a densely rendered forest, reflecting the artist’s focus on topographical detail and naturalistic space. As a representative example of the genre, it situates Koninck within the broader tradition of Dutch landscape painters who emphasized realistic terrain over idealized vistas, a theme evident across his documented oeuvre of large‑scale vistas.
Overview
Philips Koninck's 1670 oil painting, An Extensive Wooded Landscape, exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age's focus on natural scenery. This work presents a vast, tranquil view of the countryside, characteristic of Koninck's output. It captures a moment of everyday life within a meticulously rendered natural setting, inviting contemplation of the expansive Dutch terrain.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Philips Koninck (5 November 1619 – 4 October 1688), also spelled Philip de Koninck, was a Dutch landscape painter and younger brother of Jacob Koninck.
