19th century school, following 17th century Flemish... Lot 31

19th century school, following 17th century Flemish models. "City View". Oil on canvas. The canvas has perforations and dirt. With patch on the back. Measurements: 46 x 55,5 cm. Although the dating of this canvas is fixed in the 19th century, the artist is clearly inspired by Flemish models of the 17th century. In it he gives priority to the landscape view of the last planes, in which the skyline of a typically Flemish city can be discerned. Like other genres that became very popular during the 17th and 18th centuries in Flanders, landscape painting has its roots in the Dutch pictorial tradition of the 15th century. The background landscapes in the religious works of Van Eyck, de Bouts and van der Goes occupy a much more important place as an artistic element in these works than landscape painting in Italian painting of the same period. With regard to the representation of the narrative, the landscape of the Flemish Primitives plays an essential role, not only as a natural setting for the characters but also to separate and set the various episodes of the story narrated in the work. With regard to the imitation of nature, 15th-century Flemish painters sought to depict the countryside and towns of their native country in their religious landscapes, detailing their flora with botanical precision and even giving an idea of the time of day and the season of the year in which the scene takes place. This special interest in depicting the landscape increased as the 16th century progressed, when a new type of landscape was developed and popularised for sacred scenes: the panoramic view. Very soon, however, it was the representation of the landscape itself that was to receive the attention of painters and, of course, of the public.