Jan Asselyn

Jan Asselijn painted Italian landscapes for Dutch buyers: ruined bridges and aqueducts, travellers and horsemen resting in golden light. He brought the clear, warm Italian manner back to Amsterdam and helped make it popular there.

He was born around 1610 in Dieppe to a Huguenot family and trained under Esaias van de Velde. He spent years in France and Italy, where he joined the Bentvueghels, the Netherlandish artists’ club in Rome, before settling in Amsterdam. He also painted animals, battle scenes and cavalry skirmishes. His most famous painting is The Threatened Swan, the first work the Rijksmuseum ever acquired. He died in Amsterdam in 1652.

Italian Landscape with the Ruins of a Roman Bridge and Aqueduct is a good example of his style: the ruins are set against a bright sky, and the travellers give you the scale.