VOSMAER, Daniel
(b. 1622, Delft, d. ca. 1669, Den Briel)

View of a Dutch Town

1661-63
Oil on panel, 66 x 53 cm
Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Poughkepsie

This unusual town view is a radical departure from Vosmaer's previous paintings as well as from townscape painting in general. The diagonally ascending wall in the immediate foreground effectively blocks access to the scene. The viewer is permitted only a glimpse across the top of the wall into a sunny open area with patches of grass and shrubs and, farther off, a grove of trees and a row of houses; a few people can be seen strolling about.