Four landscapes. Plate 4: River landscape with a horseman

Jacob Duck (also Ducq, Duyck, Duick, Duc) (1600–1667) was a Dutch painter and printmaker. Probably born in Utrecht, from 1611, he trained there to become a goldsmith, in which craft he became a master in 1619. From 1621 he took drawing lessons from Joost Cornelisz Droochsloot. He was primarily active in Utrecht, but between 1636 and 1646 also in Haarlem, while between 1656 and 1660 he lived and worked in The Hague. In 1661 he returned to Utrecht, where he died and was buried at the monastery of St. Mary Magdalene. Duck primarily depicted soldiers, figures, and everyday scenes.

This print is one from a series of four etchings showing landscapes. Plates 1 and 2 are by Romeyn de Hooghe, and 3 and 4 are by Duck; they are believed to date from the last few years of the latter's life. Duck depicts a river landscape with a horseman standing on a river-bank in the central foreground, seen in profile. In the middle ground, another horseman is crossing the river. In the a round tower perches romantically on a cliff in left background - the landscape is clearly not from Duck's native Netherlands. The etching is part of the so-called King George album of Old Master prints, acquired by the Dominion Museum, forerunner of Te Papa, in 1910.

Sources:

British Museum, Collection online, https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3125295&partId=1&search Text=duck+four+landscapes&page=1

Wikipedia, 'Jacob Duck', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Duck

Dr Mark Stocker  Curator, Historical International Art   April 2019