Square Tower Used as Inn near a River

This is the fifth of the thirty-six prints (including title page) that comprise the last of Jan van de Velde II’s printed landscape series, “PLAYSANTE LANTSCHAPPEN ende vermakelycke GESICHTEN” (“Pleasant landscapes and amusing views”), published by Claes Jansz. Visscher shortly after Van de Velde’s death. (The title page, designed by Visscher, advertises the series as Van de Velde’s final works.) The fields, rivers, and rustic buildings, populated by figures of different classes engaged in a variety of activities, from farming and hunting to boating and ice skating, are not identifiable views but strongly evoke the local Dutch landscape. The present image features a dilapidated, overgrown structure, a motif favored by Van de Velde and other practitioners of the genre.

The print reproduces in reverse a drawing also acquired in 2014 (see 2014.590). When working on the plate, Van de Velde added three figures: two noblemen, one holding a rifle, the other seated with a helmeted falcon, and, at far right, a woman in peasant dress. He also modified the shape of the building and, with details like the half-open window and the wreath(?) and basket, more emphatically identified the structure as being inhabited.

(JSS, 8/23/2018)