Italianate landscape

The Dutch artist Jan Dirksz Both (c. 1615-52) was a near-contemporary of Rembrandt, but could not be more different from him stylistically. Coming from the more Catholic-influenced Utrecht, he probably trained with the famous Caravaggio follower Gerrit van Honthorst. Although he executed 17 documented etchings, Both was predominantly a landscape painter, and he collaborated closely with one of the greatest exponents of the genre, Claude Lorrain, on two series of large idyllic landscapes during his period in Rome (1637-41). Also in Italy he was closely associated with the so-called bamboccianti (followers of Pieter van Laer, Il Bamboccio, ‘ugly doll’), focussing on picturesque genre scenes with bucolic, often low-life figures. On his return to Utrecht, Both concentrated on landscape paintings.

This etching is from a series of four upright landscapes depicting travellers on a road following the Acqua Negra between Bologna and Florence, and obviously relates to Both's prolonged stint in Italy. Althought trees and the steep terrain are dominant, in the centre we see a woman on a mule and a further mule, closely followed by a walking male figure with his dog. Steep rocks lead down to a brook on the left. The landscape is more spectacular than any 'Claudeian' ones but retains an idyllic rather than sublime or threatening quality.

See:

British Museum, 'Italianate landscapes', https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1625262&partId=1&searchText= 1852%2c1211.129&page=1

Sheila D. Muller (ed.), Dutch art: an encyclopedia (New York, 1997)

Wikipedia, 'Jan Dirksz Both', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Dirksz_Both

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   November 2018