GOYEN, Jan van
(b. 1596, Leiden, d. 1656, Den Haag)

Dune Landscape

1631
Oil on panel, 40 x 63 cm
Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig

In a dune landscape a goatherd tends his flock. A man hangs over the fence, looking at the goats. Further back four men converse and on the right at the top of the dune, there are three people and a dog.

This painting demonstrates that Van Goyen preferred simplicity: simplicity of subject, palette and composition.