Wooded Landscape with a River, Castle, and Town Beyond

The appeal of this elaborate landscape lies in its harmoniously balanced compositional structure, and its delicate draftsmanship. A large tree divides the picture in two, with to its left a path at the edge of a forest while to its right a panoramic view of a valley unfolds. In the central background, an intriguing ruin is situated on top of a hill, while down in the valley a river divides landscape once more, towards the regions in the distance. Van Alsloot added some brown washes and a little blue and red watercolor to better articulate various aspects of the panorama, such as the river and buildings.

Denijs van Alsloot was a court artist to the archdukes Albrecht and Isabella in Brussels, and was responsible for the recording of various historic events at the royal city of residence. Most of his artistic output, however, consists of landscape paintings, often with mythological or biblical narratives, much in style of his famous contemporary, Jan Brueghel the Elder (1568–1625). Dated works are known from 1606 until 1625.


Since van Alsloot’s style is strongly reminiscent of that of Brueghel and other contemporary Netherlandish landscapists, his work has often been confused with that of other artists. This sheet, however, leaves no room for doubt. According to Sabine van Sprang, the author of the 2014 monograph on van Alsloot, The Museum's sheet is an autograph copy of an earlier version, signed and dated 1608, which is held in Wolfegg.[1] The compositions are nearly identical, except for the clouds in the sky of the Woldegg drawing. Both are related to a painting by van Alsloot, dated 1610 (Antwerp, Koninklijk Museum voor de Schone Kunsten, oil on panel, 101 × 135 cm, inv. no. 865). The painting shows the nearly exact same landscape which now functions as the backdrop for the story of Tobias and the Angel.

The drawing moreover is signed ‘D. v. Alsloot’ in the lower left corner. The date ‘1611’, which is written with a different, darker ink, is likely to have been added by a later hand. Although the drawing presumably was as a preliminary study for the painting, van Alsloot’s signature could indicate that the artist considered the sheet an independent artwork in its own right.


The sheet is illustrative of van Alsloot’s drawing style. The artist used brisk, wavering lines in pen and ink to meticulous delineate the various visual elements in the landscape. Slight mannerism can be observed in the rather fantastic rock formations, and the inclusion of the intriguing structure of the dilapidated building seen in the central background.


Views of panoramic woodlands, also known as ‘Waldlandschaft’ were a popular genre among van Alsloot and his contemporaries. The forests surrounding Brussels, notably the so-called Sonian Forest, served these artists as a source of inspiration. Although nature studies presumably lie at the basis of this composition, many elements, such as the architectural structures likely derived from the artist’s imagination.


[1] S. van Sprang, Denijs van Alsloot (vers 1568–1625/26). Peintre paysagiste au service de la cour des archiducs Albert et Isabelle, Turnhout: Brepols, 2014, vol. I, p. 83-84 and 85-86, cat. nos. D4 and D7.