Sketchbook of Jan van Goyen

Jan van Goyen (1596–1656) is considered one of the leading representatives of Dutch landscape painting during the so-called Golden Age. With his innovative, reduced color palette, he had a particular influence on tonal landscape painting, which still captivates viewers today with its restrained aesthetic. The basis for his more than 1,000 dreamy oil paintings were countless quick sketches, which he preferred to make with black chalk during his frequent travels and wanderings through the Netherlands, Germany, and France. For this purpose, he kept several pocket-size sketchbooks, only two of which have survived. He used the so-called Bredius-Kronig Sketchbook, which is now kept in the Bredius Museum in The Hague, from May 15, 1644. In it, he made chalk drawings of grass and dune landscapes, picturesque villages on rivers, individual buildings, and maritime scenes that caught his eye on his travels through North and South Holland. Some of the sketches were subsequently artfully washed with brown-red ink. A fascinating insight into the artistry and working methods of this gifted landscape painter!