Mountain Landscape
Joos de Momper, II·c. 1610
Historical Context
This mountain landscape by Joos de Momper II exemplifies the Flemish tradition of imaginary mountain scenery that descended from Joachim Patinir and Pieter Bruegel the Elder. De Momper, who may have crossed the Alps on a journey to Italy, transformed these precedents into dynamic compositions of towering peaks and sweeping valleys. His landscapes were enormously popular in Antwerp and were collected throughout Europe.
Technical Analysis
The oil-on-panel painting demonstrates de Momper's fluent, almost calligraphic brushwork in rendering rock formations and foliage. The atmospheric perspective employs his signature blue-gray tones in the distance, creating a convincing sense of vast mountain space.
Provenance
Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries, New York, by 1935; purchased by the Art Institute, 1935 with funds donated by Mrs. Perry H. Smith.
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