Getty Museum
Landscape with Ruins (recto); Head of a Woman and Animals (verso)
Creator
Jan van de VeldeDutch Artist · 1593–1641
All works by this person →Jan van de Velde II came from an artistic family. His father was a celebrated calligrapher and teacher and he was the nephew of Esaias van de Velde, an important landscape painter. Jan also specialized in landscapes but made his mark as a printmaker and draftsman. His engraved landscapes were often based on drawings from nature and his emphasis on naturalistic detail and simple composition influen
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1615–1616
- Medium
- Pen and black ink with gray wash (recto); Black chalk with gray wash (verso), on laid paper
- Culture
- Dutch
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- e5e47d05-8c01-464c-a876-d67e80394d7b
From the Getty Museum record
The drawing depicts crumbling stone buildings overgrown with vegetation. Two large structures - the ruins of a fortress or castle and joined by a decaying arched bridge over a river - frame the view. More buildings, bathed in sunlight, are visible in the center distance, beyond the arch of the bridge. Two men on horseback, viewed from behind, leave the scene at lower left. Richly rendered in black ink, the design is complex and varied, belying its small size. The play of dark and light, foreground and background, verticality and horizontality, manmade and natural decay are delightful in their contrast. The rhythmic meandering of lines, dots, and dashes combine to create a fantastical depiction. The verso of the sheet features a head of a woman and animals, more summarily drawn.
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