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A Landscape with a River by a Wood

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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This mysterious landscape of a wood bounded by the sweeping curve of a river was, for its time, highly innovative. Instead of using trees to create a frame for an attractive view, which was the traditional approach, Cornelis Vroom has made the wood itself the focus.

Yet he has still managed to create a sense of depth. The low vegetation, the river bank and the glimpse of a sandy track catching the evening light form a deep foreground. Meanwhile the fields, bathed in sunshine, here become a distant view stretching behind the trees. Vroom has backlit the scene with a bright sky so we see the effects of light filtering through leaves, and the myriad shades of green and brown as the sun catches the treetops, breaks through the tiny gaps in the canopy or is lost altogether in the black depths of the wood.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Landscape with a River by a Wood

Date

1626

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 31.2 x W 44.2 cm

Accession number

NG3475

Acquisition method

Presented by Sir Robert Witt, through The Art Fund, 1919

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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