Landscape with Rock-laden Wagon

Donated by Vojtěch Lanna in 1884. Netherlandish engraver Bolswert was a leading reproduction graphic artist of his time, excelling in the reproduction of works by his friend Rubens. The series of twenty Small Landscapes, of which this engraving is part, was perhaps the most important outcome of their cooperation. Landscapes occupied a prominent place in Rubens’ work - he painted them for his own pleasure without his workshop’s involvement. The canvas with one of Rubens’ early landscapes (c. from 1620; today in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia) served as the model for this graphic sheet from Lanna’s donation. The picturesque natural scenery has a mysterious touch owing to the special light - the painter captured day and night simultaneously. On the left side is a landscape vista flooded with the light of the late afternoon sun, while the right side of the composition is immersed in darkness, the moon shining above the river. The darkness is also illuminated by the flames of a fire lit by a traveller on the river bank; this detail is almost indiscernible in the engraving. The man is approached by tired wagoners crossing the uneven terrain with the utmost difficulty.