Fort Lillo on the Scheldt
Jan van Goyen·1643
Historical Context
Fort Lillo on the Scheldt from 1643 at the Currier Museum depicts the fortification that guarded the river approach to Antwerp. The Scheldt fortifications were of strategic importance during the Dutch-Spanish conflicts and provided dramatic subjects for river landscape painters. Van Goyen developed his distinctive tonal monochrome palette in the 1630s, restricting himself to earthy browns, warm greys, and soft greens that gave his landscapes a unified atmospheric quality. His enormous output ...
Technical Analysis
The fort's profile breaks the horizontal line of the river landscape, Van Goyen's tonal palette rendering the misty Scheldt atmosphere with characteristic atmospheric sensitivity.
