Sheer Rocky Coastline with Workmen Loading Cargo on a Barge (Primary Title)
Adam Pynacker, Dutch, 1622 - 1673 (Artist)
Although this scene is imaginary, it exemplifies the
very real fascination of many 17th-century European
artists for the cosmopolitan culture that arose as trade
increased between East and West in regions of the
Mediterranean. A merchant from the Ottoman Empire,
depicted in a turban and flowing robes, observes the
European seamen as they shift cargo between a boat
and a wooden barge. The coastal landscape was likely
inspired by Pynacker’s voyage to Italy in the late 1640s.
As a wine merchant, as well as a painter, he would have
been familiar with the travel routes connecting major
Mediterranean ports before reaching the steep-sided
cliffs at Livorno, a major depot for Dutch international
trade in Italy. Regardless, the artist’s preference for
contemporary figures and activities rather than more
typical representations of antique motifs and ruins
enhances the reality of his Italianate seascape.
The Jordan and Thomas A. Saunders III Collection
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