Jacob Bouttats

Provenance: private collection

A subject invented by Jan Brueghel the Elder at the beginning of the 17^th century, river landscapes became extraordinarily popular in 17^th century Flemish...

Provenance: private collection

A subject invented by Jan Brueghel the Elder at the beginning of the 17^th century, river landscapes became extraordinarily popular in 17^th century Flemish painting. This large river landscape with entrance to a village illustrates, with a pictorial refinement reaching true summits, the different facets of this accomplished painter’s art.

The painter’s personal vision asserts itself in all its refined and uncluttered sobriety. Behind the deep and intense colours of this prettily executed panel, we can sense that the artist has made a considered and decisive choice concerning the colours. The small touches of bright colours formed by the villagers animate the painting. On the edges of a peaceful village, a boat containing villagers is ready to cast off, while other characters simply talk among themselves. All these characteristic scenes discretely enliven this bucolic landscape and are relayed by Bouttats’ typically delicate technique. He was an artist whose skill was just as masterful in his small miniaturist masterpieces as it was in his much larger paintings.  

Bouttats portrays the minor characters who animate this sumptuous panoramic landscape with equal refinement, automatically ranking him among the finest landscape painters of the 17^th century.