Italian Seaport 1619 - 1669

Daniël van Heil created this Italian Seaport on canvas sometime in the 17th century. At this time, artists from Northern Europe commonly depicted Mediterranean scenes, even when they had never visited the South. These idealized landscapes were not documents of real places, but fantasies of merchants and patrons. Looking at the painting we can see the artist's concern is less with a sense of reality and more with atmosphere. The landscape and architecture are not those of a specific place, but typical representations. What then does this say about the social function of such a painting? Well, art historians consult a range of sources to understand the institutional context of this artwork. We know from historical records about artistic patronage in the Netherlands and about the art market. With this knowledge, we can begin to understand the role of art in the social life of the time.