Villagefire by night

From the 1650's, nighttime village fires were a popular theme with painters in Rotterdam. The naturalistic rendering of the light effects produced by fire and the moon on the surrounding darkness was the greatest challenge for an artist. Particularly important in this development was the work of Egbert van der Poel (1621-1664), who had moved to the city in 1654. He had several faithful followers in Rotterdam; among the best known was Adam Colonia, who signed the work described here with an elegant flourish at the lower right.