A Landscape with Travelers

A cluster of trees dominatesthe skyline of a dune landscape. A long fence divides the scene horizontally. Behind the fence, loaded carts proceed toward the background while two horsemen ride in the opposite direction. A family picnics in the foreground on the left.

De Molijn made a career of depicting in painting, drawing, and print scenes set in the dunes near Haarlem. This charming sheet belongs to his most creative period between 1654 and 1658, when he made numerous such drawings, usually signed and dated. He also made duplicates of many of them, which suggests that they were popular.The addition of wash to the chalk drawing to indicate dark shadow on the fence and on the ground in the foreground emphasizes the luminosity of the scene taking place in the background on a sunny day on the dunes near the Dutch seashore.