Jan Josefsz. van Goyen Leiden 1596 - 1656 The Hague

This recently discovered painting of 1625 is particularly rare in that it is one of very few known coastal scenes with a lighthouse painted by van Goyen.  Three others, each executed in a different format between 1621 and 1623, are known: The Lighthouse, one of a group of four roundels signed and dated 1623, sold London, Christie's, July 9, 1999, lot 3;¹ Gypsies on a Beach of 1623, which is vertical in format and measures 30 ¾ by 28 ¾ in.;² and, in a rectangular format and on a much larger scale, The Fishing Village, signed and dated 1621, sold London, Sotheby’s, July 8, 1992, lot 87.³  

The present roundel exemplifies van Goyen’s early landscapes, when the artist was still very much under the influence of his teacher, Esaias van de Velde.  This style differs from van Goyen’s more mature work in his use of bright colors, as seen here in the cloudy, blue-white sky, and in the various bright red shirts, caps, and skirts worn by the figures, all colors which he would later replace with more muted tones and gradations of browns and grays.  Early in his career, van Goyen, following the Flemish example, favored the circular format and would frequently make pendant pictures.  As Dr. Beck has suggested to us, it is possible that the present picture has an unknown mate. 

We are grateful to Dr. H.U. Beck, who, based upon photographs, has confirmed the attribution of this picture to van Goyen.

1  See Dr. H.U. Beck, Jan van Goyen, II Amsterdam 1973, p. 54, cat. no. 103.

2  Beck, op. cit., p. 77, cat. no. 157.

3  Beck, op. cit., p. 109, cat. no. 222.