Artwork
May
May is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Velde, Jan van de, II. It dates from 1617 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Jan van de Velde II, a Dutch artist active during the early seventeenth century, produced the print titled May in 1617. Executed as an etching, the work reflects the printmaker’s parallel engagement with painting. It presents a tranquil riverside village scene rendered in monochrome, characteristic of the artist’s focus on everyday landscapes.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a modest settlement beside a flowing river, anchored by a church with a prominent steeple. Small houses and leafy trees frame the central space, while four figures, two adults and two children, traverse the riverbank and a lone boat drifts nearby. The arrangement suggests a peaceful, communal moment in a rural setting.
Technique & Style
Van de Velde employed the etching process, incising fine lines into a metal plate that were then inked and pressed onto paper. The delicate hatching creates subtle gradations of tone, giving the foliage and architecture a sense of solidity and depth. Small details, such as the figure with a walking stick and the miniature passengers in the boat, demonstrate the artist’s meticulous line work.
History & Provenance
The artist hailed from a family of painters and printmakers, continuing a tradition that linked his father and son to the same visual vocabulary.
May belongs to a series of landscape prints produced by van de Velde during his career, a period when he was recognized for animal, landscape, and still‑life subjects. The artist hailed from a family of painters and printmakers, continuing a tradition that linked his father and son to the same visual vocabulary. The print remains documented in several European collections, reflecting its circulation among early modern art markets.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Jan van de Velde the younger (1593 – c. 1 November 1641) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and printmaker, mostly of animal, landscape and still-life subjects. He was the son of Jan van de Velde the Elder and the father of…
