Existing comment:
Jan Brueghel the Elder
Extensive Landscape with View of the castle or Mariemont, 1609-11
The castle in the background of this painting is Mariemont, a hunting lodge -- now destroyed -- in the Southern Netherlands that belonged to Archduke Albert and Archduchess Isabella of Austria. Brueghel painted Mariemont several times. Here he shows Archduke Albert surveying the castle from a low hill. He holds a telescope, a newly invented scientific instrument introduced in 1609, which enables us to easily date the painting.
The panoramic landscape conforms to the color scheme used by many Flemish landscape painters at that time: darker tones for the foreground, bright greens for the middle distance, and blues for the background. The abundant detail here is also typical of Brueghel's work; note the birds and animals nestled in the foliage of the foreground. They serve to illustrate the charmingly rustic world of Mariemont as well as demonstrate the skill and accuracy of the artist. |