Lot 2055 Dα

The present work was attributed to the Leiden based painter Jan Steen already in the 18th century. It belongs to the comparatively small group of Steen's works that take place outdoors and therefore also depict sections of landscape. In this work it is a river landscape with gentle hills and a small village with an unusal tower with a dovecote. Before it, two figures can be seen loading or unloading a wooden barrel from a cart. For this reason, the picture was for a time entitled “Brewery”. However, this title was not particularly convincing, as Dr Guido Jansen points out: “One small barrel does not make a brewery” (op. cit.). The wooden cart with its four heavy wheels is pulled by two horses, another horse with a rider dominates the center of the picture, while other figures enliven the scene and add colorful accents.

In contrast to Jan Steen's mostly dimly lit tavern interiors, the bright colours of the figures and the sunlit landscape show clear echoes of Isaak van Ostade, as well as nods to Jan van Goyen, Jan Steen's father-in-law, in the rural backdrop. The river landscape with its low horizon is inspired by his work, as are the high clouds that punctuate the sky and the way the painter guides our eye through the composition. We know a number of van Goyen's landscapes with a panoramic view on the left and trees and buildings on the right, including one in which a group of travellers on horseback and in a carriage have stopped in front of an inn.