SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Jan van Goyen

The Dutch painter and draughtsman Jan van Goyen makes the sky a major element of his landscapes. From the 1630s onwards, he works in a more subdued palette, with light tones and monochrome scumbling; clouds take up an increasingly prominent place in compositions where the colours seem to merge beneath overcast skies.

Born in Leiden in 1596, he returns there in 1618 after a study trip to France around 1615–1616 and a stay in Haarlem, where he continues his training with Esaias van de Velde the Elder. Back in his native city, he joins the Guild of Saint Luke. His first signed work is dated 1620; the biographical source estimates that he later produced around a thousand paintings and eight hundred drawings. His activities are not limited to painting: he also works as an art dealer and is consulted as an expert. In 1637, he is caught up in tulip mania; he also buys and sells several houses.

From the 1630s onwards, his work includes seascapes and river landscapes, with river views appearing from 1636. Between 1638 and 1653, he paints around ten views of the Valkhof in Nijmegen. He also travels to Antwerp and depicts Fort Lillo on the Scheldt. Several works illustrate this diversity: A River Landscape with a Ferry, painted in oil on wood and dated 1625, is recorded in the Emil Georg Bührle Collection in Zurich; a River Landscape with a Mill and a Ruined Castle, dated 1644, is at the Louvre; and a Riverbank with a Church and a Farm, dated 1653, is at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.

His work is the subject of an exhibition organised by Charles Sedelmeyer in 1875, followed by an exhibition devoted to him at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in 1903.

This profile brings together identity references for Jan van Goyen and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

Documented auction references

29auction references

6auction houses

14documented results with prices

Lempertz · Koller · Kornfeld · Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Genève Enchères · Piguet

References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.

Works recorded at auction

Photograph : Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Enlarge image ↗

Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 316

Ansicht von Leiden, 1653

Oil on wood

Original catalogue wording

Ansicht von Leiden, 1653
Öl auf Holz

Catalogue period : 2025-04-03

Published result : 127025 CHF

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : CHF 100000–150000

Jan van Goyen

Documented auction references

Works recorded at auction

Ansicht von Leiden, 1653

Blick auf einen breiten Fluss mit Booten und Staffage, rechts eine Landungsbrücke, darüber ein Wirtshaus

Fischer mit Pferdewagen mit abgetakelten Segelbooten links in den Dünen

Drei Pferdewagen und andere Figuren vor einer Herberge

Windmühle, Bauernhäuser und Gebüsch

Grosse Klosterkirche, links Strasse mit Staffage

Holländische Stadt an einem Ufer, rechts mit vier Figuren auf einer Brücke, in der Ferne ein Kirchturm

Landende Boote mit Staffage vor einem Haus mit Taubenschlag

Segelschiffe auf einem Kanal

Silhouette von Den Haag, mit der Jakobskerk rechts, von der Seite des Rijswijkschen Weg

Altes Wasserschloss

Weite Landschaft mit Wanderern

Flusslandschaft mit Turm, Dorf und Windmühle

Blick über die Windungen der Spaarne

Flusslandschaft mit Bauernhäusern unter Bäumen

Küstenlandschaft mit Fähre und Turm im Hintergrund

Flusslandschaft, 1653

Landscape with a farmstead and a wanderer

Landschaft mit einem altem Schloss und Türmchen

Landschaft mit Bauernhaus und Kalköfen

Flusslandschaft mit einem Haus

Paysage de dunes animé de deux personnages

Stormy river landscape with rowing and sailing boats and fishermen. 1638.

Harbour scene with fishing boats and Dordrecht in the background. 1655.

References excluded from statistics: attributions and special lots

Original title: D’après Jan van Goyen — Marché aux bœufs

École de Jan van Goyen — Marine aux moulins

D’après Jan van Goyen — Pêcheurs près de la rive

Suiveur de Jan Van Goyen — Scène portuaire

Suiveur de Jan Van Goyen — Paysage lacustre

Sources and references

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