Wooded Landscape with a Dead Tree

landscape

Like many Haarlem landscape painters, Wynants was inspired by the dunes near to his native city. His large dune paintings are often conceived in deliberately contrasting masses, arranged on either side of a road leading into the picture. The bold placement of the large gnarled tree and the fallen tree trunk in the foreground in the present painting are a reminder of the solemn atmosphere of Jacob van Ruisdael's work.

Loading map…

About the Artist

Jan Wynants

1630 – 1684

Jan Wynants (Wijnants), Dutch landscape painter, active first in Haarlem, then from 1660 in Amsterdam, where he also kept an inn, but was still always in debt. He specialized in landscapes with dunes and sandy roads, inspired by the countryside around Haarlem - unpretentious, naturalistic views that were favourites with collectors in the 17th and 18th centuries. Wynants was prolific and his work is in many public collections. Adriaen van de Velde was his pupil and Gainsborough was among the artists he influenced.

View all works →