Italiaans landschap met reizigers in de verte 1628 - 1652

This drawing of an Italian landscape, with travellers in the distance, was made by Jan Both, likely in the mid-seventeenth century. It is created with pen and brown ink, and brown wash, on paper. Both was part of a community of Dutch and Flemish artists who crossed the Alps to experience the light and atmosphere of Italy firsthand, a popular practice at the time. The paper support has a warm tone, onto which the artist has applied multiple washes of diluted brown ink, manipulated to build up the composition. The ink is applied wet, which allows tonal gradations from light to dark. Both added fine pen lines to define the trees, and figures on horseback in the distance. There is a directness and an intimacy to this method, which encourages us to consider the artist’s hand and the natural materials used. This artwork reminds us that art and craft were not always seen as separate disciplines. For an artist like Both, the skilled application of materials was as important as the subject depicted.