Artwork
Horsepond near a boundary stone
Horsepond near a boundary stone is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Philips Wouwerman. It dates from 1650 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a landscape, the painting represents the harmony between domesticated animals and the rural environment rather than conveying overt allegorical symbolism.
Horsepond near a boundary stone is a landscape painting by Philips Wouwerman, dated 1650, that centers on a horse as its primary subject. The work belongs to the landscape genre, situating the animal within a rural outdoor setting anchored by a boundary stone and a watering place. Wouwerman, working in Haarlem, was known for integrating horses into pastoral scenes, and here the depicted horse functions as the focal element around which the landscape composition is organized.
The combination of the horsepond and the boundary stone suggests a typical countryside locale, evoking themes of rural life, travel, and the everyday Dutch landscape tradition of the mid-seventeenth century. As a landscape, the painting represents the harmony between domesticated animals and the rural environment rather than conveying overt allegorical symbolism.
Technique & Style
Horsepond near a boundary stone is an oil painting executed on a panel support by Philips Wouwerman in 1650. The work measures 34 cm in height and 41 cm in width. Classified as a landscape, the composition depicts a horse within a rural setting.
The artist applied oil paint directly onto the wooden panel, a standard technique for Dutch landscape paintings of the mid-seventeenth century.
History & Provenance
Horsepond near a boundary stone is an oil painting on panel created by Philips Wouwerman in 1650. The work was produced in Haarlem and depicts a landscape featuring a horse. It is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, the National Art Gallery of the Netherlands. The painting measures 34 cm in height and 41 cm in width.
The painting is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, the National Art Gallery of the Netherlands. It is catalogued as part of that institution's holdings of seventeenth-century Dutch landscape painting.
No specific exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Horsepond near a boundary stone is a landscape painting executed in oil around 1650 by Philips Wouwerman, a Dutch artist prominent during the Dutch Golden Age. The work is characterized by a dynamic scene centered around a muddy horsepond, populated by figures on horseback and on foot, set against a dramatic sky.
Context
Produced during the Dutch Golden Age, this painting reflects the era's emphasis on detailed, realistic depictions of everyday life and landscapes. Wouwerman's style aligns with the period's artistic values, though the painting's specific themes and elements set it apart from his more common hunting and battle subjects.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Philips Wouwerman (also Wouwermans) (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter of hunting, landscape and battle scenes. He became prolific during the Dutch Golden Age and joined the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke.
