Rocky Landscape
mid-17th century
Medium
Pen and brown ink, gray wash, over traces of black chalk, heightened with white. Framing line in pen and brown ink.
Dimensions
10 5/16 x 7 15/16 in. (26.2 x 20.1 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1971
Accession Number
1971.34
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the rugged beauty of Jan Both's *Rocky Landscape*, a drawing from the mid-17th century Dutch Golden Age. Both (ca. 1615–1652), a Utrecht-born artist influenced by his travels to Italy, specialized in luminous, Italianate landscapes that blend dramatic natural forms with golden light. This intimate sheet, measuring just over 10 by 8 inches, captures towering rocks and sturdy trees in a wild, mountainous vista, evoking the awe-inspiring scenery of the Roman countryside that captivated Northern European artists. Crafted with pen and brown ink, gray wash over faint black chalk traces, a...
About the Artist
Jan Both · 1618–1652
Jan Both was born in Utrecht around 1618 into an artistically rich environment: his father was a glass painter, and his brother Andries was also a painter with whom he would collaborate during their formative years in Italy. Jan trained under Abraham Bloemaert, one of the most versatile and influential artists working in Utrecht, before traveling to Rome — a journey that would prove decisive for h...