Village on a River

About the Artwork

This small sheet by Jan Jansz. den Uyl shows the Amsterdam artist recording a scene that he probably encountered during a walk outside the city. Once back in his studio, he embellished the view with watercolors in blue, green, gray, and ochre. In the 1620s, when this was made, sketching landscape scenes on-site was still relatively new in the Netherlands. The drawing does not relate to any known work by Den Uyl, who was a noted still life painter, and he probably made it for his own pleasure.

Inscriptions

partial watermark

Provenance

November 11, 1998: Sotheby's, Amsterdam, Netherlands 1998-2019: Private Collection, Amsterdam, Netherlands March 4, 2019: the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.

Quick Overview

Artist: Jan Jansz den Uyl (Dutch, 1595/96–1639/40)
Date: 1620–25
Medium: black chalk, with transparent and opaque watercolor in blue, green-blue, gray, and ochre, framing line in brown ink on antique laid paper; framing line in brown ink
Dimensions: Sheet: 14.9 x 21 cm (5 7/8 x 8 1/4 in.); Matted: 16.8 x 21.9 x 0.5 cm (6 5/8 x 8 5/8 x 3/16 in.); Image: 10.5 x 16.5 cm (4 1/8 x 6 1/2 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: John L. Severance Fund
Accession no.: 2019.14

Open-access museum record · AT-00011298