HERMAN VAN SWANEVELT | ITALIAN RIVER LANDSCAPE WITH HERDERS AND THEIR CATTLE

Herman van Swanevelt was a Dutch painter who worked in Rome and Paris and may be seen to have acted as one of the most important links between the first generation of Dutch Italianate artists in Rome, such as Poelenburgh and Breenbergh, and the following generation, such as Both and Berchem.

This landscape is particularly reminiscent of the work of Claude Lorrain, whose style developed in tandem with Swanevelt's in Rome during the 1630s. While in 'The Eternal City' Swanevelt executed several important commissions, including paintings for the Barberini family and the Vatican.

In this relatively small copper plate, upon which the bright palette remains vibrant, Swanevelt has depicted a quiet but nevertheless monumental landscape, which recedes to the blue mountains in the distance.