A pair of large flemish eighteenth-century landscape paintings

A Pair of Flemish Landscape Paintings
In the style of Jan Frans van Bloemen (1662–1749) · Early 18th century

A very fine pair of early eighteenth-century Flemish landscapes, executed with the refinement and classical balance that characterises the Italianate tradition popularised by Jan Frans van Bloemen. Together the paintings form a harmonious ensemble — serene, luminous, and rich in narrative detail. Period carved gilt wood frames

circa 1700–1740

The Paintings:
Pastoral river landscape with figures
Lush trees and softened ruins flank a gently winding river that carries the eye into a hazy, sunlit distance. Small groups animate the scene without overwhelming it: a boy reclining in the foreground, a young couple in conversation, a shepherd leading his flock past tall willows, and a distant hamlet nestled beneath a mountain. A ruined Italianate building on the right introduces a quiet meditation on time and transience. The warm, diffused light — suggesting early morning or late afternoon — dissolves into a bluish atmosphere at the horizon.

Rural farmstead with laundry scene and huntsman
A companion piece of equal charm and compositional skill. Three generations of a family attend to their laundry at the river's edge; behind them, a crumbling farmstead is alive with doves settling into roosting boxes and villagers gathered in evening warmth. The left side of the canvas lies in shadow, where a huntsman returns home with game across his back. At the composition's sunlit centre, a solitary young man is dwarfed by tall trees arching toward the farmstead — a quietly poetic figure bridging shadow and light.

ATTRIBUTION
Neither work is signed, as was common practice among Flemish artists producing paintings for the open market. In composition, palette, and handling, both pictures closely recall the output of Jan Frans van Bloemen — known in Rome as Orizzonte for his mastery of the luminous horizon. His characteristic devices are all present here: tall repoussoir trees framing an open middle ground, small staffage figures animating an idealised Arcadian setting, and a warm golden atmosphere drawn from careful study of the Italian countryside. The tradition descends from Paul Bril and was carried forward through Nicolaes Berchem and Adam Pynacker before reaching its mature expression in artists such as van Bloemen, Hendrick Frans van Lint, and Pieter Angillis.