Italian Landscape

The tranquil countryside stretches far into the left-hand distance, bathed in soft golden light. The poor condition of this painting renders it difficult to read. By the sloping bank, the legs of a muleteer can just be glimpsed, leading the mules which transport goods on their backs. Two figures and their dog pause by a rocky pool in the foreground, one is bathing their feet, the other looks back towards the animals. To the right of the painting more livestock wait patiently by.  

The Dutch painter Jan Both (1618-52) is known for his landscape paintings in the Italian style.  He was much influenced by the Italian countryside scenes of the painter Claude Lorrain (1600-82) and himself lived in Italy as a young man, where he would make sketches and drawings in the countryside around Rome. When back in his studio in the Netherlands, Both continued to infuse his paintings with the inspiration he had found there. In the past, this painting’s poor condition has caused scholars to question the attribution to Jan Both, but compositional details such as the tree silhouetted against the bright sky are characteristic of Both’s hand.