People Conversing at the entrance of a village - Pieter de Neyn (1597-1639)

Oil on panel

Monogrammed lower left and dated 1638

Dimensions: 40 x 59 cm, 45 x 74cm (framed)

THE ARTWORK
In a farm landscape, we see three people taking a break. A man lies comfortably among the straw, telling his story. A woman with a basket and a man with a rapier sit with their arms crossed, listening to what he has to say. In the background we see another cow and two carts with some people around. The dog on duty also comes to take a look at what's happening.

The focus of this scene is on the landscape. Attention is paid to the leaves and the position of the sun. When you zoom in on the straw, you can see each thin brushstroke to create the illusion of an individual straw. The same with the roof panels. The house behind the conversation is painted with such precision that you can count the panels. A low horizon is typical of landscape art in the golden age. Artists make way for the typical Dutch cloudy sky and meadows. De Neyn also applied this technique here as you can see.

The attention in this painting is on the representation of nature and the environment. Typical of the Middle Golden Age in Holland was the contrast of light and dark and therefore attention to the shadows. In this painting, De Neyn contrasts the sky (top) with a dark shadow in the lower left corner.

THE ARTIST

Pieter de Neyn is a Northern Dutch painter, born in Leiden on December 16, 1597. He was active in the golden age and died on March 16, 1639. At the age of twelve he started his training as a stonemason. He was also interested in mathematics, architecture and perspective theory. From 1611 to 1617 he was apprenticed to Esaias van de Velde together with Jan van Goyen. After this training he returned to Leiden where he continued to be active. With his painting he worked in landscape art, inspired by his teacher van de Velde and fellow student van Goyen.