Meindert Hobbema, Dutch, 1638-1709
Adriaen van der Velde, Dutch, 1636-1672
Title: A Wooded Landscape: the Path on the Dyke
Date: 1663
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
105.5 x 128 cm
Credit Line: Presented, Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection)
Object Number: NGI.4533
DescriptionTrained by Jacob van Ruisdael in the late 1650s, Hobbema became one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the Dutch golden age. He was strongly influenced by his master’s style of the 1660s, but found his own area of specialisation in painting wooded landscapes. The Path on the Dyke, which is in excellent condition, is regarded as one of Hobbema’s finest works. The main path leads behind trees, where sunlight highlights some cottages. A lower path, alongside a pond, offers an alternative viewpoint of trees, figures and buildings on the horizon. Highly skilled in delineating foliage and contrasting areas of light and shade, Hobbema created a type of picturesque landscape that was to have a major influence, making him one of the most highly regarded Dutch landscape painters for three centuries. In 1668, after Hobbema married and became a wine-gauger in Amsterdam, the quality of his work declined. Van de Velde painted the figures and the cattle.
March 2016
March 2016
ProvenanceEdward John Littleton (later Lord Hatherton) by 1828; purchased by Lord Dudley between 1857 and 1864; Earl of Dudley sale, London, 25 June 1892, lot 7; Agnew; Alfred Beit, 6 March 1895; by descent in 1906 to his brother Otto, later Sir Otto Beit, Bt.; by descent to his son Sir Alfred Beit; presented, Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection)
Exhibition HistoryBritish Institution, London, 1828
Manchester Art Treasures, Manchester, 1857
British Institution, London, 1864
Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1871
Pictures by Dutch Masters, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1900
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1908
Dutch Art 1450-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1929
Old Master Paintings from the Beit Collection, National Gallery of South-Africa, Cape town, 1949-1950
Art Treasures Centenary Exhibition, City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1957
Shock of Recognition: the Landscape of English Romanticism and the Dutch Seventeenth Century School, Mauritshuis, The Hague; Tate Gallery, London, 1970-1971
Acquisitions 1986-1988, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1988
Master European Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 6 June - 9 August 1992; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, 19 September - 6 December 1992; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 13 January - 28 March 1993; IBM Gallery, New York, 27 April - 26 June 1993
The Golden Age of Dutch Landscape Painting, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 10 October 1994 - 12 February 1995
Art Surpassing Nature: Dutch Landscapes in the Age of Rembrandt and Ruisdael, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 29 October 2012 - 20 January 2013
Manchester Art Treasures, Manchester, 1857
British Institution, London, 1864
Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1871
Pictures by Dutch Masters, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1900
Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1908
Dutch Art 1450-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1929
Old Master Paintings from the Beit Collection, National Gallery of South-Africa, Cape town, 1949-1950
Art Treasures Centenary Exhibition, City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1957
Shock of Recognition: the Landscape of English Romanticism and the Dutch Seventeenth Century School, Mauritshuis, The Hague; Tate Gallery, London, 1970-1971
Acquisitions 1986-1988, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1988
Master European Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 6 June - 9 August 1992; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, 19 September - 6 December 1992; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 13 January - 28 March 1993; IBM Gallery, New York, 27 April - 26 June 1993
The Golden Age of Dutch Landscape Painting, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, 10 October 1994 - 12 February 1995
Art Surpassing Nature: Dutch Landscapes in the Age of Rembrandt and Ruisdael, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 29 October 2012 - 20 January 2013
Label TextTrained by Jacob van Ruisdael in the late 1650s, Hobbema became one of the most accomplished landscape painters of the Dutch Golden Age. He was strongly influenced by his master’s style of the 1660s, but found his own area of specialisation in painting wooded landscapes. This outstanding work depicts a path leading behind trees, where the sun highlights some cottages. A lower path, alongside a pond, offers an alternative viewpoint of trees, ?gures and buildings on the horizon that is typical of the artist. Van de Velde painted the ?gures and cattle.