around 1610/1614 -1652 · Dieppe, Rome and Amsterdam

Italian ruins, horsemen, southern light and bustling nature place Jan Asselijn among the great Dutch Italianists, capable of uniting observation and landscape theater.

Jan Asselijn was born in Dieppe around 1610 or 1614 into a Dutch family and died in Amsterdam in 1652. He trained in the Dutch landscape, probably with Esaias van de Velde, then traveled to France and Italy. In Rome, where he stayed for several years, he joined the circle of Nordic painters called Bentvueghels. His nickname "Krabbetje" evokes a deformation of the hand, without preventing him from becoming a remarkably precise designer and painter. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He studied ruins, bridges, roads, shepherds and horsemen under the light of the South. He Landscape with a tower overlooking a river organizes depth through trees, road and illuminated architecture. Ruin and shepherds' hut brings together the ancient monument and rustic habitat, two ages of landscape united in one light. In Italian landscape with horsemen, figures and animals are not accessories: they give scale, animate the path and invite the eye to travel through the valley. Asselijn also paints battles, fires and contemporary events. His most famous work, The Threatened Swan, shows a bird defending its nest with spectacular energy; his most famous work, The Threatened Swan, shows a bird defending its nest with spectacular energy; his political reading linked to Johan de Witt is after creation. This ability to charge nature with action distinguishes Asselijn from the more peaceful landscapes of his contemporaries. Through its contrasts of light, its ruins and its travelers, it plays a major role in the diffusion of the Italian landscape in Amsterdam. The "Jan Asselijn" selection notably compares Landscape with a tower overlooking a river and Ruin and shepherds' hut. His reading favors movement.

Asselijn makes the path an invitation: light crosses the ruins, meets travelers and leads the eye towards an Italy rebuilt by memory.