Mouth of the Meuse (Dordrecht)

This work is an excellent example of the riverscapes from van Goyen's mature period. The city of Dordrecht is depicted on the right of this landscape looking out to sea from the mouth of the Meuse River. The whole work is composed of a fine balance of almost monochromatic brown tones. The few sail boats and small boats that bob on the wave-filled surface of the delta and the figures rowing boats and fishing all have a melancholic air about them. The work is particularly fine in its depiction of the brilliant light that floods the area between the massive cloud-filled sky and the sea. Goyen repeated the same motifs and composition several times and a number of works depicting the mouth of the Meuse remain today. (Source: Masterpieces of the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 2009, cat. no. 35)