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Meindert Hobbema (artist) Dutch, 1638 - 1709 A View on a High Road, 1665 oil on canvas Overall: 93.1 x 127.8 cm (36 5/8 x 50 5/16 in.) framed: 122.6 x 158.4 cm (48 1/4 x 62 3/8 in.) Andrew W. Mellon Collection 1937.1.62 On View |
Hobbema often painted rural scenes where a road meanders past houses and farms nestled among trees. One senses the soft winds of a summer day as clouds billow in the sky. Pools of sunlight accent buildings and fields as well as the leaves and branches of distant trees. Figures strolling along the road or resting beside it are integrated harmoniously into this peaceful and idyllic setting.
Hobbema, who studied for a short while in Amsterdam with Jacob van Ruisdael, was a prolific painter, particularly during the 1660s when this work was done. He frequently painted variants of his scenes by slightly changing the position of buildings, trees, and figures. In this instance the elegant foreground couple may have been painted by a specialist in depicting such figures. Hobbema often collaborated with other artists in this manner when completing his works.
The idyllic qualities of his scenes, combined with the realistic effects of light and atmosphere, appealed tremendously to English collectors. This painting, along with another that Hobbema may have painted as its pendant, belonged to the collection of the Duke of Westminster in the nineteenth century.