Jan van Goyen (1596-1656)Jan van Goyen learned to paint in Leiden. He later became a pupil of the Haarlem landscape painter Esaias van de Velde. At first Van Goyen worked in Van de Velde's lively style, but in 1627 he began to paint monochromeMonochromeMonochrome means 'one colour'. The term comes from the Greek word 'monochromos', meaning 'of one colour'. The word is also used for works of art (paintings) in which, although more than one colour is used, the number is nevertheless limited. landscapes. Like Salomon van Ruysdael he worked predominantly with greens and greys. Van Goyen lived and worked in Leiden from 1618 to 1632. His last years were spent in The Hague. Van Goyen was one of the most productive painters of the seventeenth century. His tremendous tempo meant that he invariably repeated his themes. He is known to have produced some 1,200 paintings and 800 drawings. Many of the latter were made on trips through the Netherlands and Germany. |
