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Dune landscape

Maker

(artist)
1596-1656

Title

Dune landscape

Date of Production

1626 - early 1630s

Medium

black chalk on laid paper

Dimensions

Height: 12.6 cm
Width: 21.4 cm

Accession Number

D.1952.RW.902

Mode of Acquisition

Robert Clermont Witt, bequest, 1952

Credit

The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust)

Copyright

Work in the public domain

Location

Not currently on display

Keywords

Label Text

Sand dunes appear elsewhere in Van Goyen's work, but they are rarely the sole focus of attention as here. The spareness of the drawing, and the large areas of unmarked paper, suggest the bleak unproductiveness of the area. This is emphasised by the figures whose backs are turned towards us, and by the low viewpoint which makes the half-hidden house seem almost swamped by the sand. The rough textures of both the paper and the chalk also suggest the wildness of the dune, which can neither be tamed nor utilised.

Notes

Other black chalk dune studies appear in a sketchbook in the British Museum, dated to 1627-33. Van Goyen first experimented with black chalk in 1626 and adopted it for all drawings after 1630.

Provenance

E. Parsons & Sons (London); purchased there by Sir Robert Witt, London (1872-1952), L.2228b, n.d. (£2.8); Witt Bequest 1952

Exhibition History

Dutch drawings from the Witt Collection: Part 1: Landscape, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 1972 (Jan.-Mar.)

Landscapes in the Making: Dutch & Flemish 16-17th Century Drawings from the Courtauld Gallery, Tobu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 03/11/2000-24/12/2000; Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Shizuoka, 02/02/2001-11/03/2001; Koriyama City Museum of Art, Koriyama, 17/03/2001-15/04/2001

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 16/10/1991-19/01/1992 ...More

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, The Courtauld Gallery, London, 03/09/1986-30/11/1986; The Drawing Center, New York, 08/04/1986-26/07/1986 ...Less

Literature

Master Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Institute Galleries, London, 1991
cat. no. 38
pp. 84, 181
Illus. p. 85

The Northern Landscape: Flemish, Dutch and British Drawings from the Courtauld Collections, Courtauld Gallery, London, 1986
cat. no. 39
Illus. p. 103

Beck, Hans-Ulrich, Jan van Goyen 1596-1656: ein Oeuvre-verzeichnis, vol. I, Amsterdam 1972
no. 776 ...More

Dutch drawings from the Witt Collection: Part 1: Landscape, Courtauld Gallery, London, January - March 1972
cat. no. 10 ...Less

Inscriptions

Watermark: Watermark: none.

Inscription: none.

Collector's mark: Verso: lower right edge, stamped in black ink: Sir Robert Witt (L.2228b).

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