A Rocky Landscape with an Ox-cart
- Artist: Jan Both
- Date: about 1640-5
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "A Rocky Landscape with an Ox-cart" painted in the Italian north by Jan Both. Look at the way the long-haired goats are munching on the scrubby plants, but then notice the lush greenery on the distant hillside above the lake. The cart's laden with household goods resting on straw, suggesting that the driver might be moving house or perhaps he's a travelling trader who visits remote areas like this one.
You can see how Both was influenced by Claude, another great landscape painter he befriended during his three-year stay in Rome. The warm golden light, deep shadows in the foreground, and misty distance are all typical of Claude's style, but notice the characters here - they're more realistic and everyday people doing ordinary things.
In fact, Both was known for painting recognisable contemporary people, often with a humorous twist. And look at the two horsemen taking a different route behind the ox cart. They're an interesting contrast to the peasant riders we usually see in Both's paintings. The attention to detail and soft colours here are also typical of Both's style, which he used to create a rustic delight that would appeal to a Dutch merchant living in a busy city.
See it in person
A Rocky Landscape with an Ox-cart 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.
