Two animated landscapes with travellers - Isaak van Oosten (1613-1661)

ISAAK VAN OOSTEN
1613 - 1661
Two animated landscapes with travellers
Oil on copper
We’d like to thank dr. Jan de Maere for his expertise.
Dimensions: 21 x 31 cm, 29 x 39 cm (framed)
THE ARTIST
Isaak van Oosten was a Flemish Baroque painter active in Antwerp, best known for his serene and detailed landscape paintings and cabinet panels. Born in 1613, he became a master in the Antwerp Guild of St. Luke and worked within the rich tradition of early seventeenth-century Flemish landscape art. His works reflect the influence of leading Antwerp painters such as Jan Brueghel the Elder, Alexander Keirincx, Lucas van Uden, and Jan Wildens, whose lyrical treatment of nature and atmospheric depth van Oosten adapted into his own refined style.
Van Oosten’s compositions are characterized by gently rolling terrains, open skies, and tranquil arrangements of trees and waterways, often animated with small groups of travelers or peasants. His light is soft and even, casting a calm and harmonious atmosphere across his landscapes. These works embody the pastoral ideal that dominated Flemish art during the first half of the seventeenth century, celebrating both the natural world and human life within it.
As was customary among Antwerp painters, van Oosten often collaborated with artists who specialized in figures and animals. Painters such as Willem van Herp frequently contributed the lively staffage in his scenes, while others like Pieter van Avont or Jan van Kessel the Elder occasionally provided still-life and animal elements.

THE ARTWORK
These two finely executed copper panels present animated landscapes populated by travelers, characteristic of van Oosten’s gentle and poetic vision. In the first scene, figures and cattle cross a shallow river near rustic houses, while others journey along a winding path toward the horizon. The second panel depicts a caravan of wagons and riders moving along a forested road, with a distant city skyline visible beneath a bright, expansive sky.
Van Oosten’s delicate brushwork and atmospheric perspective demonstrate his mastery in rendering both natural serenity and human movement. The warm palette, balanced compositions, and rhythmic placement of figures reflect the enduring influence of the Brueghelian landscape tradition while revealing van Oosten’s own lyrical sensibility.
Paintings such as these exemplify the Antwerp school’s synthesis of nature, travel, and everyday life, offering the viewer not only a picturesque scene but also a reflection on the quiet rhythm of rural existence. The harmony between human activity and landscape evokes a sense of timeless balance—a hallmark of van Oosten’s contribution to Flemish Baroque landscape painting.