Object of the Day: A Nineteenth-Century Dutch Landscape

Signed “S. v. V. D”. and dated 1850 on the reverse, this large landscape painting most likely heralds from the Netherlands though it was purchased with a lot of English antiques which were brought to Texas.


Compositionally, we can find further evidence of its origins. Half of the composition represents water while the remaining majority of the scene is composed of a dramatic sky offset by the silhouettes of contrasting trees. A ridge of mountains cuts across the scene, leading the eye toward a domestic scene of two men fishing aside a humble, but sturdy house. The theatrical rendering of the landscape which dwarves the human-figures and their creations is typical of Dutch Landscape painting and also a favorite theme of English art collectors.

Such canvases were produced in the Netherlands for export to the United Kingdom during the Nineteenth Century when British middle and upper class households were clamoring for imported art to fill their walls.

We have another case where the artist probably never would have imagined that their work would be hanging in a house in America—let alone such an exotic and unknown place as Texas. It goes to show that there’s a permanence to all that we create. Long after we’re gone, our works will continue to exist, ending up in the most unexpected of locations.