Landscape with a Church

A lone church, in soft browns and greys, is set against the bright sky and nestled in a sparse landscape, framed by giant trees. Lichen clings to the trunks of the birch trees on the right while, to the left, a barren tree stump arches gracefully to frame the scene. A softly-illuminated path leads towards the church, perhaps inviting the viewer to take a walk towards it. Unusually for Dutch painting, this scene is devoid of human and animal life, imbuing it with a sense of anticipation for a story to unfold.

Long thought to have been painted by a follower of Jacob van Ruisdael (1629-82), this painting has only recently been attributed to the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer van Haarlem I (1628-91), who specialised in landscapes and winter scenes. There are stylistic similarities between the birch trees and other known works by the artist, though a better reading of the signature on the rocks has helped to support this new identification.