An Italianate river landscape with figures along a path and buildings beyond

This painting is a characteristic example of Siberechts’ early approach to the painting of bucolic landscapes prior to his move to London in the summer of 1672. Such landscapes found particular favor among Antwerp’s wealthy bourgeoisie and merchant classes and suggest Siberechts may himself have travelled to Italy, though no documentation in support of this has yet been found. The painting’s strong shadows and defined sense of volume suggest, at a minimum, an awareness of the works of contemporary Dutch Italianate painters like Nicolaes Berchem and Karel du Jardin. A similar approach to composition can be seen in a number of works by Siberechts dating to the mid-1660s, including an Italianate landscape dated 1666 in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Liège. The present painting probably dates to a similar period in Siberechts’ career.