Jan Wijnants

Jan Wijnants was one of the most important Dutch landscape painters of the second half of the 17th century. His landscapes were inspired by the dunes near Haarlem, where he was born, and where his early development was influenced by Jacob van Ruisdael and Philips Wouwermans. Wijnants regularly employed similar compositional structures in his landscapes, most often with a path winding into the distance through a forest and undulating dunes, as seen in the present example. Here, as in many of his paintings, the left side of the picture is built up with dunes and trees while the right side opens up to a panoramic view, creating a vast sense of space. As he was primarily a landscape specialist, Wijnants turned often to other artists for help with the staffage, probably Johannes Lingelbach in the present example. 

The present work compares closely with other dated works by Wijnants of circa 1670-1675, about a decade or so after he left Haarlem for Amsterdam, where he would remain for the rest of his career. Comparable works of this period include the artist's Landscape with sportsmen resting by a path, signed and dated 1670,¹ and Landscape with figures, signed and dated 1671.²

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1. Oil on canvas, 128.5 by 171.5 cm, signed and dated 1670. See K. Eisele, Jan Wijnants (1631/32 - 1684), Stuttgart 2000, pp. 139-40, no. 99, reproduced fig. 99, and color plate XIX.  https://rkd.nl/explore/images/240882

2. Oil on canvas, 79 by 103.2, signed and dated 1671.  https://rkd.nl/explore/images/112081