990 - View of a Landscape with Shepherds by Pieter de Molijn (London, April 6, 1595–Haarlem, March 23, 1661)

View of a Landscape with Shepherds by Pieter de Molijn (London, April 6, 1595–Haarlem, March 23, 1661) Oil on canvas, dimensions: 140 x 100 cm; dimensions with frame: 164 x 120 cm. Pieter de Molijn (London, April 6, 1595–Haarlem, March 23, 1661) was a Dutch painter and engraver of the Baroque period who specialized in landscape painting. He sometimes collaborated with Frans Hals. He was born in London to a Flemish family. His parents were from Ghent and Brussels; it is believed that they emigrated to England for work. Little is known about the artist’s early years. It is thought that he traveled to Italy before 1616, when he joined the Guild of Saint Luke in Haarlem. Unfortunately, there are no known works dated before 1625. Between 1616 and 1627 he lived in Delft, where he married in 1624 and had seven children. He settled permanently in Haarlem and died there. He was a well-respected figure in the community and, as such, served as a member of the city’s Civic Guard on three occasions (1624, 1627, and 1630). Bibliography: Biography of Pieter Molyn included in *De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen* (1718), written by Arnold Houbraken, available in the Digital Library for Dutch Literature.