River View by Moonlight

This painting shows a river view that stretches all the way to the horizon. The moon illuminates the scene so brightly that the surroundings are mirrored in the water: the ships, the cows and the trees to the right. Aart van der Neer devised a special technique to evoke the reflection of moonlight: using the other end of his brush, he scratched lines in the wet paint, so that the lighter background showed through. This is visible in the silhouettes next to the last cart and on the fence near one of the farms on the left.

From the collection of Jan Six (Amsterdam). Presented by Sir Henry Deterding (London), 1936.