Jan Wijnants

JAN WIJNANTS (Haarlem, 1632-Amsterdam, 1684).
"Landscape with figures".
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower margin.
Measurements: 24.5 x 30.5 cm; 39 x 45.5 cm (frame).

Painter of the Dutch golden century specialized in the painting of landscapes, Jan Wijnants offers us on this occasion a serene and open scene, with a fluffy autumn foliage that absorbs the lights in a homogeneous and sieved way. The low point of view favors a chromatic treatment by sections that lead us naturally into the meadow surrounded by peasants. He uses different light planes to generate the sensation of depth. In his painting, influenced by the painter Jacob van Ruisdael, Wijnants is poetic in his feeling and skillful in his technique.

Jan Wijnants was a Baroque painter from the Netherlands who specialized in landscapes. Born into a Catholic family in Haarlem, he was the eldest son of an art merchant also named Jan Wijnants. By his father's second marriage, he was the half-brother of Egbert van Heemskerck (1634-1704), a painter of genre scenes. In 1653 he was in Rotterdam, in the house of a relative, although it is probable that he returned later to Haarlem and that he remained there until April 1660, when it is documented the rent in his name of a house in Amsterdam. A few months later, in December of that year, he married Catharina van der Veer, and it is probable that he did not leave this city until his death. It is unknown who his master was, but the style of his painting shows the influence of the landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael and how he focused on painting winter forests and Italianate landscapes, with special attention to the study of trees. His pupils were Adriaen van de Velde, when he was still living in Haarlem, and Nicolaes de Vree, already in Amsterdam.