Artwork
How Well We Go Together
How Well We Go Together is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Adriaen van de Venne. It dates from 1635 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Adriaen van de Venne, a Dutch painter active during the 17th‑century Golden Age, created the panel work *How Well We Go Together* in 1635. Executed on a wooden panel, the composition features two anthropomorphic owls poised on ice skates against a bright sky. The piece is part of the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen.
Subject & Meaning
The scene presents a pair of owls, each dressed in distinct attire—a black cloak with a white ruff on the left, a brown coat and gray hat on the right—standing on skates and looking forward with determined expressions. The title implies a harmonious partnership, while the owl, a traditional emblem of wisdom, combined with the winter sport, may allude to the balance of intellect and leisure in everyday life.
Technique & Style
Van de Venne employs a clear, linear drawing style typical of Dutch genre painting, using a restrained palette of blues, browns, and muted whites to convey the cold atmosphere. The careful rendering of clothing folds and the subtle shading on the birds’ feathers create a sense of three‑dimensionality, while the composition’s diagonal thrust suggests motion despite the static medium.
History & Provenance
Painted in the mid‑1630s, the panel reflects van de Venne’s interest in allegorical subjects and domestic scenes that characterized his oeuvre. After remaining in private hands for several centuries, the work entered the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it has been displayed as part of the museum’s representation of Dutch Golden Age painting.
Artist & collection
Artist
Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne (1589 – 12 November 1662), was a versatile Dutch Golden Age painter of allegories, genre subjects, and portraits, as well as a miniaturist, book illustrator, designer of political satires, and versifier.
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