A Landscape with a Ruined Archway
- Artist: Jan Wijnants
- Date: 1667
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is "A Landscape with a Ruined Archway" by Jan Wijnants. Painted in the late 17th century, it's one of many landscapes Wijnants specialised in, depicting the countryside around Haarlem where he lived and worked.
You see, this area was characterised by ancient sand dunes, scrubby woodland, open pastures, and winding cart tracks. It also had a history - many buildings were destroyed during the Spanish occupation nearly a century earlier and were never rebuilt. This ruined archway is actually one of Wijnants' favourite subjects; he painted it several times with figures and animals passing through.
In this painting, we see a shepherdess watching over her flock in the warm sunlight flooding through the arch. The light effects are quite striking - note how the long shadows stretch across the foreground, while the sky behind is a vibrant, luminous colour that Wijnants was known for. He was influenced by Dutch artists who travelled to Italy and popularised a romantic view of landscape.
What's interesting here is that the figures and animals weren't painted by Wijnants alone - his frequent collaborator Adriaen van de Velde added them to enhance the scene. The way they're integrated into the composition creates an atmosphere of peace and stillness, typical of the late afternoon.
See it in person
A Landscape with a Ruined Archway hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
