A Wooded Landscape with Travellers by the Roadside, a Stream beyond
17th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, brush and gray wash, framing line in black ink
Dimensions
sheet: 6 7/16 x 10 11/16 in. (16.4 x 27.2 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Anonymous Gift, in memory of Frits Markus, and Frits and Rita Markus Fund, 2003
Accession Number
2003.320
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene *A Wooded Landscape withellers by the Roadside a Stream beyond*, Dutch artist Herman van Swanevelt captures the tranquil beauty of nature during the 17th-century Golden Age. Swanevelt, known for his Italianate landscapes influenced by his time in Rome, depicts a lush wooded path where weary travellers pause amid towering trees, with a gentle stream winding into the distance. This intimate drawing evokes the era's fascination with the pastoral sublime, blending human presence with the vastness of the countryside—a nod to the growing appreciation for nature as both refuge and narra...
About the Artist
Herman van Swanevelt · 1603–1655
Herman van Swanevelt (1603–1655) was a leading Dutch Baroque painter, draughtsman, and etcher, celebrated for his luminous Italianate landscapes that bridged the classical ideals of Rome with the emerging naturalism of the Dutch Golden Age. Born in Woerden, near Utrecht, to a family of artisans whose lineage traced back to the renowned Lucas van Leyden, Swanevelt's early life and training remain s...