Artwork
View of a Beach
View of a Beach is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Simon de Vlieger. It dates from 1646 and is held in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Carter and Hannah Locke Carter Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, reflecting the Carters' patronage of Dutch landscape painting.
View of a Beach depicts a tranquil shoreline populated by figures and vessels, featuring a boat, a beach scene, a crowd, a warship, and a horse-drawn wagon that together suggest a narrative of leisure and maritime activity. The presence of a warship and a horse-drawn wagon may symbolize contemporary concerns about naval power and travel, while the crowded shoreline conveys communal gathering. The work is part of the Edward W. Carter and Hannah Locke Carter Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, reflecting the Carters' patronage of Dutch landscape painting.
The painting measures 35 cm in height and 53 cm in width, executed in oil paint on canvas in 1646. It belongs to the genre of landscape painting and was created by Simon de Vlieger, a Dutch artist known for his maritime and coastal subjects.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1646, View of a Beach is an oil painting on canvas by Simon de Vlieger. The work measures 35 cm in height and 53 cm in width. As a landscape, the composition depicts a bustling beach scene featuring a crowd, a warship, a boat, and a horse-drawn wagon.
The piece is classified within the genre of landscape painting and currently resides in the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, having been part of the Edward W. Carter and Hannah Locke Carter Collection.
History & Provenance
The painting View of a Beach by Simon de Vlieger is dated 1646, a date supported by both the artist’s records and the work’s cataloguing in later collections.
Its provenance traces to the Carter family: Edward W. Carter and Hannah Locke Carter acquired the work and later bequeathed it to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, where it remains in the Edward W. Carter and Hannah Locke Carter Collection.
Simon de Vlieger's oil painting View of a Beach, created in 1646, is held by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The work is part of the Edward W. Carter and Hannah Locke Carter Collection within the museum's holdings. While the painting has been associated with this specific collection since at least its inception in 1646, the provided sources do not list specific accession numbers or a detailed record of past exhibitions.
Context
Simon de Vlieger’s View of a Beach (1646) occupies a pivotal place within Dutch Golden Age marine and coastal painting. Scholars highlight its synthesis of meticulous naturalism and atmospheric effects, characteristic of de Vlieger’s broader oeuvre, which bridged the tonal landscapes of Jan van Goyen and the more structured compositions of Willem van de Velde the Younger. The work’s depiction of boats, warships, and quotidian beach activity reflects the era’s preoccupation with maritime trade, naval power, and the Dutch Republic’s coastal identity.
Its inclusion in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Edward W. Carter and Hannah Locke Carter Collection underscores its recognition as a representative example of mid-17th-century Dutch landscape painting, valued for both its technical refinement and its cultural resonance.
Overview
View of a Beach is a 1646 oil painting by Simon de Vlieger, a Dutch artist known for his seascapes. The work is part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art's collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Simon de Vlieger (c. 1601 – buried 13 March 1653) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and designer of tapestries, etchings, stained glass windows. While he is mainly known for his marine paintings, he also painted beach…
