ATTRIBUÉ À HENDRIK VAN MINDERHOUT (1632 - 1696)

Port scene Oil on canvas. Height : 65 cm - Width : 81 cm The foreground of this Mediterranean harbor scene is occupied by a quay on the edge of which a galleon has just docked, its castle decorated with a sculpture. A caravan of dromedaries and horses loaded with fabrics accompanied by turbaned merchants is heading towards the left of the painting occupied by dry boats. On the other side of the painting, a city with its ramparts, its castle and a three-story building at the foot of which imposing galleons are parked. The light casts deep shadows that create a great sense of tranquility. The sunset located at the vanishing point accentuates the heat of this end of day as well as the softness of the landscape. Tranquility and poetic dimension of the landscape are the two characteristic elements of this painting. Although born in Rotterdam, Van Minderhout did not work in Holland, but in the south of the Netherlands. In 1652 he was in Bruges. His training is not well known: it seems that from 1653 onwards and for some time he settled in Rome and worked with Claude Lorrain (1600/1682) the leader of classical landscape painting. From 1662 to 1672 he was again active in Bruges and finally worked in Antwerp until his death.