18th-Century Dutch School Idealised Landscape With Resting Figures

A fine 18th-century oil on canvas depicting two figures resting in an idealised rural landscape with setting sun. The artist has drawn their inspiration from the imagined landscapes of neoclassical painters, such as Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin.

Artists working in this manner would combine elements from their own natural world with fictional components from antiquity. Often they’d incorporate imagined ruins in a classical style as we can see towards the right of this painting.

Also, note how the large tree guides our eye towards the figures and then across to the mountains on our right. It’s another visual tool that’s intended to help the viewer navigate the scene.

The painting is a celebration of the natural world and it still brings a moment of calm as it originally sought to achieve.