Italian Landscape with Mule Driver

Artist
Jan Both
Year
c. 1645–1650
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
37.2 × 50.1 cm
Public Domain Rijksmuseum

Jan Both returned to Utrecht from Rome in 1641 and brought with him the golden light of the Italian campagna, founding a style of idealized southern landscape that dominated Dutch taste for generations. Italian Landscape with Mule Driver belongs to the last decade of his career, when his sun-drenched views with travellers and herdsmen were among the most imitated paintings in the Low Countries.