Banks of a Brook

Infused with the hazy glow of Italian sunshine, this painting takes the eye for a languid stroll alongside a babbling brook. The gold-tinged beech trees shield a view of a distant, hazy mountain range, the soft tones of the receding summits blending almost seamlessly into the sky. In contrast, the foreground is painted in sharper focus. The water tumbling over the edge of the brook, the branches strewn across the bank and even individual blades of grass are rendered in crisp detail. The landscape is peppered with a cast of characters. The bundle of chattels and a discarded red jacket draped over the mule catch the last of the sun’s rays. To the rear of the muleteer are herdspeople wading through the shallow water next to the bank while, in the distance, a huntsperson emerges from the trees, catching the attention of their companion below.  

The condition of this painting has rendered it difficult to attribute, though it is attributed today to the Dutch painter Jan Both (c. 1615-52). Based in Utrecht, he was one of the most influential of the Dutch Italianate painters, inspired by the poetic landscapes of his contemporary, French artist Claude Lorrain (1600-82). Between 1638 and 1641, Both was part of a group of Northern European artists based in Rome, all drawn to and seduced by the golden light of the Roman campagna (countryside). Both was amongst the first to travel back to his home country, drawing on his memories and sketches to create imaginary landscapes that brought the warmth of southern Europe into the parlours of the newly emerging Dutch merchant class.