An Imaginary View of Nijenrode Castle

Van der Heyden painted Nyenrode Castle in both its actual topographic setting and in imaginary rearrangements that exploited the building's romantic silhouette for pictorial purposes. This 1667 National Gallery panel, depicting an imaginary view, is a companion subject to the earlier topographic view and demonstrates van der Heyden's conscious distinction between documentation and ideal composition. By labelling a view as imaginary — or by presenting it as such to knowledgeable collectors — he implicitly claimed the prerogative of artistic invention that elevated painting above mere topographic record-making. The National Gallery's pair of van der Heyden panels (alongside the church square) provides an excellent basis for comparing his range of architectural subjects and his handling of the real-versus-ideal distinction that runs through Dutch topographic painting.

Oil on panel, with the imaginary setting allowing van der Heyden to place the castle in a landscape designed for pictorial rather than topographic effect — a more dramatically tree-framed, water-reflected setting than the real castle's situation afforded. The castle's masonry is rendered with the same documentary precision as in the actual view, the architectural substance remaining constant while the invented landscape setting provides pictorial enhancement.