Landscape

Jan van Goyen · c. 1656

The village buzzes as people have come in from the country to attend a small market fair. Horse drawn wagons block the road, which is lined with vendors standing over their baskets of produce. Children and adults take part in the activity. The inn has hung out its greens to remind all that refreshments are available. Jan van Goyen was among the most prolific landscape draftsmen of Holland’s Golden Age. He remained productive until his death in 1656, the year of this drawing. Here as in most of his work, he seems to revel in the picturesque character of scruffy buildings, floppy hats, and unmanicured vegetation—all captured in his quick shorthand notations.