The Ferryboat
by PYNACKER, Adam, Oil on canvas, 65 x 76 cm
Onlookers laugh as a ferryboat worker splashes into the water after a donkey. This commotion is set against a serene landscape, punctuated by the stern gentleman on the shore and the placid cow beside him. Before becoming a painter, Pynacker was a merchant, and it was on a trip to Italy that he first encountered the golden sunlight that would later infuse his paintings. Here, it bathes the landscape and adds dramatic highlights.