Dutch Canal, Rijswijk

Dutch Canal, Rijswijk

Jacob Maris

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Maris, like Israëls, was one of the most esteemed artists of the Hague School, which sometimes has been characterized as fostering a renaissance of the Dutch Golden Age. The motif of the bridge in this scene recalls the seventeenth-century works of Adriaen van Ostade and Jacob van Ruisdael. Yet the large scale, sombre palette, broad areas of color, and handling of light update the subject. Maris painted, drew, and etched many versions of this image to satisfy the demands of private collectors.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Dutch Canal, RijswijkDutch Canal, RijswijkDutch Canal, RijswijkDutch Canal, RijswijkDutch Canal, Rijswijk

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.