Artwork

Foreshore Scene with Windmill

Foreshore Scene with Windmill, by Jan van Goyen, graphite, 1653
Foreshore Scene with Windmill, by Jan van Goyen, graphite, 1653

Foreshore Scene with Windmill is a graphite drawing by the Baroque artist Jan van Goyen. It dates from 1653 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Foreshore Scene with Windmill, created in 1653, is a graphite and gray wash drawing on laid paper by Jan van Goyen, a prolific Dutch landscape artist of the 17th century.

Subject & Meaning

The drawing captures a bustling riverside scene, featuring a windmill, trees, small buildings, and various boats with people engaged in daily activities, highlighting everyday Dutch coastal life.

Technique & Style

Van Goyen employed soft lines and subtle gray wash shading to achieve depth, characteristic of his approach to capturing atmospheric effects in landscape drawings.

History & Provenance

Part of van Goyen's extensive body of over 1,000 drawings, this work is representative of his prolific output during the Dutch Golden Age.

Context

Created within the Baroque period, the drawing aligns with the era's focus on depicting everyday life and mundane scenes, reflecting van Goyen's contribution to the genre.

Legacy

Van Goyen's influence on subsequent landscape artists underscores his central role in the Dutch Golden Age of landscape art, with works like Foreshore Scene with Windmill exemplifying his impact.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Jan van Goyen

Artist

Jan van Goyen

Jan Josephszoon van Goyen (Dutch pronunciation: ; 13 January 1596 – 27 April 1656) was a Dutch landscape painter.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.