Landscape

Dutch landscape painting was first and foremost a literal interpretation of the physical surroundings. The countryside in Holland during the Dutch Golden Age was undergoing change owing to significant economic growth, and artists such as Jacob van Ruisdael and Meyndart Hobbema recorded these developments with meticulous precision and topographical accuracy. There was another strand of Dutch landscape, however, which was influenced by Italy and particularly appealed to British collectors. Artists such as Jan Both, Aelbert Cuyp, and Cornelis van Poelenburgh had travelled to Italy and were inspired by the light, warmth and Classical ruins to paint timeless Arcadian landscapes populated by shepherds and shepherdesses.