(Amsterdam 1642–1719)
An elegant lady and her dog in a park landscape
oil on canvas, 89 x 75 cm, framed

The present painting is one of the rare portraits by the hand of Jan Weenix, who had actually specialised in the depiction of game. In his compositions, which were highly coveted among Amsterdam patricians, Weenix combined close-up views of meticulously narrated motifs with wide park landscapes in which he embedded such classically inspired elements as statues and stone urns. Due to patrician society’s growing interest in these subjects, such landscapes became a central theme in 17th century Netherlandish painting. Both Weenix and Melchior de Hondecoeter, his fellow student in his father’s workshop, complied with this preference for gardens and flowers by frequently describing them with great botanic accuracy as subsidiary motifs in larger compositions, of which the present painting is an example. The paintings by Jan Weenix differ from those by his father, Jan Baptist, showing greater elegance in the rendering of the figures, as well as more refined and saturated colours, and a more delicate brushwork, by which Jan achieved a tactile perception and surface texture.

The present painting is one of the rare portraits by the hand of Jan Weenix, who had actually specialised in the depiction of game. In his compositions, which were highly coveted among Amsterdam patricians, Weenix combined close-up views of meticulously narrated motifs with wide park landscapes in which he embedded such classically inspired elements as statues and stone urns. Due to patrician society’s growing interest in these subjects, such landscapes became a central theme in 17th century Netherlandish painting. Both Weenix and Melchior de Hondecoeter, his fellow student in his father’s workshop, complied with this preference for gardens and flowers by frequently describing them with great botanic accuracy as subsidiary motifs in larger compositions, for which the present painting is an examplet. The paintings by Jan Weenix differ from those by his father, Jan Baptist, showing greater elegance in the rendering of the figures, as well as more refined and saturated colours, and a more delicate brushwork, by which Jan achieved a tactile perception and surface texture.