A View in Cologne
- Artist: Jan van der Heyden
- Date: about 1660-5
- Medium: oil on wood
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "A View in Cologne" painted by Jan van der Heyden. The scene depicts the city of Cologne and its half-built medieval cathedral, which was a project that had stalled for over a century at this point. Van der Heyden's concern was not to create an entirely accurate record, but rather to produce a pleasing view.
The painting captures the lengthy shadows and raking light of a bright morning in the city street, populated with people from all walks of life. You can see strolling gentry, a maid carrying baskets, a horseman, a woman with children, and a beggar. While the layout of the buildings is correct, many details are not.
The cathedral, for example, had a confusing jumble of unfinished parts at this time, but van der Heyden made significant adjustments to what he saw. The strange contraption on top of the tower on the right is the original medieval crane, and the shadowy stump just behind the line of trees is the north-west tower.
Van der Heyden took liberties with other buildings as well, such as the deanery, which had just been rebuilt at this time. However, many details, like the window traceries, were not accurate. It's likely that van der Heyden was more concerned with producing a pleasing view than a precise record.
See it in person
A View in Cologne 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.
