Skip to main content

Possibly by Marten Rijckaert, 'Landscape with Satyrs', about 1626

About the work

Overview

This tiny jewel of a picture was made at a time when landscape painting was beginning to be appreciated as an important genre of its own. While no longer a poor relation of pictures of great historical events or of stories from the Bible or Greek myths and legend, it was common for landscape painters of Rijckaert’s era to include figures from these myths to give their paintings gravitas.

The artist chooses satyrs as his mythical creatures, demigods of the woods and forests. They're half goat and half man, with hooves and shaggy legs, horns and hairy ears. Satyrs were followers of Dionysus, the god of wine, and were fertility symbols, notorious for drunkenness, lust, chasing nymphs and loud partying. The artist shows these rumbustious characters in a quieter moment, staggering home from their revels. He keeps them no bigger than a bee’s wing, so as to give the landscape full scope.

Key facts

Details

Full title
Landscape with Satyrs
Artist
Possibly by Marten Rijckaert
Artist dates
1587 - 1631
Date made
about 1626
Medium and support
oil on wood
Dimensions
10.3 × 20.4 cm
Acquisition credit
Richard W. Cooper Bequest, 1892
Inventory number
NG1353
Location
Not on display
Collection
Main Collection

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images