Gezicht op Hattem 1867 - 1941

This is "Gezicht op Hattem," painted by Jan Voerman, but we don't know exactly when. It's so calm and still and smooth! The paint job is so subtle and quiet – a real testament to Voerman's skills. Up close, you can see how Voerman handled the paint, thin layers, almost like he wanted to hide his own hand in the process. The field is a luscious green and the brushstrokes on the cows are blended and softened, giving the image a smooth quality. Notice the cow on the right: the paint is a dark blue, fading to white, yet retaining the hard contrast between the two colours. The overall effect is dreamy and nostalgic. Voerman’s contemporary, Piet Mondrian, was also working with landscapes. But Mondrian’s later move to abstraction feels worlds away from this gentle scene. Maybe that’s the magic of painting: it can hold so many different ways of seeing.