Fishing Boats off an Estuary

With its low horizon line, monochrome palette, and efficient paint handling, this panel is characteristic of early river landscapes by Jan van Goyen. In a society that provided a broad market for art, Van Goyen executed both small- and large-scale paintings of waterways, with varying levels of detail, to appeal to buyers at the lower and higher ends of the market. Such views of Dutch canals, moody skies, and seafaring activities appealed to collectors in the young republic, which prided itself on its maritime prowess.