A prolific painter and draughtsman, Jan van Goyen spent his early life in Leiden and Haarlem before settling in The Hague in 1632. Throughout his career, he travelled widely in the Netherlands, recording details of the landscape and topography in rapid chalk sketches which provided him with a wealth of ideas that he worked up later into finished drawings and paintings in his studio. This 1633 painting exemplifies the type of landscape Van Goyen painted during his archetypal “tonal” phase. All extraneous detail has been pared back to a few simple motifs, and the composition unified by means of a monochrome brown tonality. The scene is enlivened by passages of light and shade, created by sunlight breaching the cloud cover overhead. Reflections in the water are captured in a few fluid strokes, while little flicks of the brush using the lightest of touches give the impression of leaves ruffled by a gentle breeze. This style lasted for about ten years, although Van Goyen expanded his repertoire of subjects during this time, after which he adopted a warmer more varied palette.
