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An Architectural Fantasy

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Jan van der Heyden had an outstanding ability to make buildings seem almost photographically real (at least, that’s how we might describe it today). He worked with extraordinary delicacy and precision, taking the trouble to delineate and shade the finest details of stone and brickwork and the play of light on every tile. Look at the effects of weathering and the patched up repairs on the gable end of the building in the centre.

Despite being painted in such a realistic way, this scene is almost certainly not real. As the title suggests, it’s an architectural fantasy composed of elements of different buildings which the artist had probably visited in Germany and Holland. Van der Heyden painted several such scenes – they were probably appreciated for their exoticism and the way they evoked a sense of an ideal city once great, now ruined.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

An Architectural Fantasy

Date

probably 1665-70

Medium

Oil on oak

Measurements

H 51.8 x W 64.5 cm

Accession number

NG992

Acquisition method

Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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