A View of Het Sterckshof near Antwerp
- Artist: David Teniers the Younger
- Date: about 1646
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
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About this artwork
This is the "A View of Het Sterckshof near Antwerp" painted in about 1646 by David Teniers the Younger. The painting depicts a scene from everyday life, showing a group of people engaged in various activities around a large house partially hidden by trees.
As you can see, the figures on the bank appear to be Jacob Edelheer and his family, surrounded by some men who are fishing in the water below. One of the fishermen has left the working men to offer them a fish as a form of payment or tribute to the landowner, which was a common practice at that time.
The painting also shows the house where Jacob Edelheer lived, which was a centre for art collectors and scientists from Flanders and Holland. The tall tower with an onion dome is particularly striking, and you can see a second building on the right-hand side with its own decorative gable turned away from us.
Teniers has given his usual attention to detail in this painting, with exaggerated features on the fishermen's faces that are reminiscent of his famous scenes of peasant low-life.
See it in person
A View of Het Sterckshof near Antwerp 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.
