Fishermen on the edge of a village - dated 1654.

Oil on panel signed and dated lower right.

Dimensions: 27.5 x 45.5 cm, with frame: 42 x 60 cm.

Provenance: Maître Savot, Orléans, sale on 23/11/2000

A peaceful scene from everyday life, a typical subject of the golden age of Dutch painting, a warm bronze palette, the delicacy of the drawing, a layout made up of several planes, Chinese shadow foliage from the foreground to the bridge the background gives this work an undeniable charm.

Dutch painter of the Golden Age. This period in the history of the Netherlands between 1584 and 1702, which saw the republic of the United Provinces (now the Netherlands), rise to the rank of the first commercial power in the world, while the rest of Europe debate in the throes of a recession favors artists. The freedom of the expression "golden century" covers above all a still unprecedented flowering of culture and art, often confined to the many masterpieces of Dutch painting of the 17th century. of Dutch painting '

One of the salient features of this period, compared to the previous period, is the low number of religious paintings   Indeed, Dutch Calvinism forbids religious paintings in churches and, although biblical subjects are tolerated in private buildings , very few are realized. The other traditional genres of history painting and portraiture are present, but the Dutch Golden Age is especially remarkable for its great variety in other genres, such as scenes of peasant life, urban views , landscapes with animals, scenes of maritime battles, and still lifes. The development of most of these kinds of paintings was decisively influenced by Dutch artists of the 17th century.

Anthonie Jansz. van der Croos was born around 1606 in Alkmaar in the Netherlands. In 1634, he left Alkmaar and settled in The Hague. He became a member and secretary of the Confrérie Pictura in The Hague in 1656. He is known for creating landscapes of rivers, forests, with villages, castles, palaces and towers in the background. 

The technique of Dutch artists is generally excellent, and most of them follow the old medieval method of learning from a master. For AJ Van der Croos, it was the painter Jan Van Goyen who was his teacher and influenced his work.