Artifact World Gallery
Get the iOS app

Moonlit landscape by Anthonie van Borssom

Anthonie van Borssom · 1650-01-01

Moonlit Landscape by Anthonie van Borssom, painted around 1650, is at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It was made for a private home: a quiet room, one person looking at it.

Look at the sky first. Van Borssom built the night from deep blues and muted greens, layered to give the dark real depth. Let your eye follow the boat on the moonlit water, the fishing net on the bank, and the lone figure on the shore.

Van Borssom was born in Amsterdam in 1631 and died there in 1677. His modest atmospheric landscapes were popular among private collectors of the Dutch Golden Age who wanted a quiet scene for their home. The painting has stayed in Dutch collections ever since.

Nearly four centuries later, it still does what it was meant to do: hold a quiet Dutch night for whoever stops to look.

Details

Deep blues and muted greens. He built the night from these.
Deep blues and muted greens. He built the night from these.
A fishing net on the bank.
A fishing net on the bank.
Its stark outline against the sky emphasizes the quiet solitude of the scene.
Its stark outline against the sky emphasizes the quiet solitude of the scene.
Transcript

Around 1650. The Dutch Golden Age. A boat drifts on moonlit water. Deep blues and muted greens. He built the night from these. A fishing net on the bank. A solitary figure by the water.