HOBBEMA, Meyndert
(b. 1638, Amsterdam, d. 1709, Amsterdam)

A Wooded Landscape with Peasants on a Path and an Angler at a Stream

c. 1662
Oil on panel, 30 x 47,5 cm
Collection of ChristchurchArtGallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu, Christchurch, New Zealand

Although this painting is painted in the careful, precise manner typical of Dutch realist painting from the 17th century, it is not an exact description of a specific country view. The details have been selected and arranged to make a more pleasing scene. The figures and the buildings add to the human interest, while the small and precise detail of the plant forms give it a sense of authenticity.