Canal with a large boat and a Bridge, 1650

About the Work

Whereas the “still life” of a boat in the foreground was undoubtedly based on direct observation, the landscape in the background with the massive, outlandish-looking buildings on the left (also regarded by many as a rocky mountain) is an invention. The absence of small figures of people and animals to animate the scene is quite unusual for Rembrandt and emphasizes the composition’s artificial quality. The small print owes the shine of the water’s surface, the warm summery light, and in general its intense, almost contemplative atmosphere, to energetic reworking with the drypoint needle (most distinctly in the tree at the right and the dark shadow it casts on the boat).