The veiled glow of the moon tinges the overcast sky and the wide river in imaginative colours. A small town by the river is depicted in the painting and in the foreground there is a port full of bustling fishing boats setting our towards the distant horizon.
A moonlit river landscape became a theme in van der Neer's production in the 1640s. Nocturnal landscapes were depicted in the old Flemish art in the context of religious themes and moonlit landscapes were painted by Rubens in the 1630s. In the early 1600s, Adam Elsheimer was interested in nature by night and also some painters from Haarlem had painted nocturnal fires. Nocturnal scenes thus had traditions which van der Neer was able to fall back on in creating moonlit landscapes. However, no one prior to van der Neer had tackled the subject with equal consistency. His unconventional colourism was highly innovative; on some occasions the sky with the moon glows in strange hues like a supernatural sea of light.
Recently, the tendency in research into 17th century Dutch art has been to look for concealed meanings in works which were previously considered to be merely realistic depictions of the surroundings. Among other things, attempts have been made to seek religious symbolism in landscape paintings. Consequently, the moonlit landscapes might have symbolic connotations. The Zinnebeelden emblem collection of Claas Bruin from the mid 1600s includes an emblem representing the reflection of the moon with an inscription non fulgore suo - not with its own light. As the moon reflects the sunlight, all creation reflects the glory of God. Scarcely every moonlit landscape, however, has a symbolic meaning. Their right to existence is sufficiently justified as beautiful and lyrical pictures.
The large moonlit landscape in the Sinebrychoff Collection is undated and its composition is to a certain extent atypical of van der Neer's work. The large sailing boat in a dominant position in the foreground is characteristic of van der Neer's dated production in only a few of his sea landscapes in the mid-1640s. As the river in its full extent almost unites with the sea and the cloud formation is similar to the previously mentioned sea landscapes (Bachmann, numbers 40-42), the Sinebrychoff painting might date from the 1640s.
Without further investigation, the possibility that this painting is a skilful imitation of van der Neer's work cannot be entirely ruled out. However, on stylistic grounds, this can be regarded as unlikely. Strengths typical of van der Neer can be identified in this painting: the use of colour, composition, special lighting effects and atmosphere. But the hallmark of the artist is epitomised in the occasional hesitant brushwork and depiction of minor details, such as slightly clumsy human figures, ducks, round trees and the church tower of St Jans in Gorinchem, familiar from several of his paintings.
Over the years, this painting has apparently turned darker in colour. This has reportedly occurred in several of the large moonlit landscapes painted by van der Neer.
Aert Van der Neer The river at moonlight
