Jan Hackaert
(Amsterdam 1629-1699)

"Mountainous landscape with Shepherds "

oil on panel

16.1" x 19.41", 40.9 x 49.3 cm

€  38.000,00 

This oil on panel depicts a an Alpine landscape with shepherds  that can be attributed to the Dutch Master Jan Hackaert, born in Amsterdam in 1629, died in 1699. He was one of the best landscapists of his time, he travelled to Germany, Switzerland and Italy cooperating  with other important  17th century Masters  such as   Lingelbach, Berchem and Adriaen Van de Veld  who often  painted the staffage in his paintings. His works are in the major European museums.

This painting is pictorially interesting for it's quality  and for the typology  of it's subject  that is of the Swiss period; the landscape, as in all his works, is the protagonist, in the foreground  he usually  places  the tall trees with an exceptional emphasis  of colour in the trunks and  foliage, in the background he develops a perspective of  a deep gorge between the mountains  from where the point of view is placed and the plateau expands as far as eye can see, with tall mountains in the horizon. The village beyond the gorge, and the figures of the shepherds and herd that are between the rocks symbolize  the smallness of humanity  compared to the greatness of nature .

Remarkable and characteristic of Hackaert is the style and lighting he uses in describing landscapes, the foreground is dark whilst the sky is illuminated beyond the foliage of the trees and the landscape of  the background.