Delftse Vaart and the St Laurens church in Rotterdam, Cornelis Springer
Image on Wikimedia Commons. I don’t know the location of the original. I assume it’s in a private collection, as the painting came up for auction through Sotheby’s in 2012.
I love these 19th century Dutch cityscapes by Springer; they’re marvels of texture and atmosphere. Look at the detailed rendering and range of values in the church and other buildings in the middle distance, and yet how dramatically they recede in comparison to the foreground buildings.
I also admire the variations in color and texture within individual walls, and yet how well they hang together as large value masses.
Despite the numerous complex forms and their individual characteristics, everything in the composition fits together seamlessly — gently but inexorably guiding your eye through from foreground to background like an insistent tour guide.
Eye candy indeed.
