KLUYVER, Pieter Lodewijk Francisco (1816 - 1900)

                 The Dutch landscape painter, Pieter Lodewijk Francisco Kluyver (1817-1900), was a specialist in panoramic landscapes working in the area around Arnhem, Amersfoort, The Hague and Amsterdam. In terms of style and composition and his search for technical perfection, Kluyver's work is very much a continuation of the 17th century Northern Netherlandish tradition of landscape painting as exemplified, among others, by Jacob Ruysdael and Philips Koninck.
                 The painting shown here is of particular interest given its daring use of colour perspective, Kluyver's use of light and the impressive clouded sky. The artist has enriched the foreground with figures which stylishly lead the viewer's gaze in the direction of the plain stretching out towards the horizon. This painting is a 'pièce de conversation' in the true sense of the word: it illustrates the artistic dialogue between the realists of the 17th century and their 19th century successors with a nicety that is rarely encountered. While the 17th century painters worked from memory, their 19th century admirers extended their painterly language through the fruits of the great 19th century advance of observation.