I wont spoil it but he story behind this painting is insane, for how much hype it had I don’t know how I’d never seen it before.

(view the full sized image here)

I gave identifying info about this work to Perplexity with the instructions to research it and tell me all the interesting things it could about the work. Here’s what we got:

The Avenue at Middelharnis: A Swan Song of Golden Age Splendor

Picture this: a perfectly straight dirt road stretches endlessly toward the horizon, flanked by impossibly tall, spindly trees that pierce the vast Dutch sky like nature's own cathedral spires. A man in a golden jacket strolls leisurely down the center of this avenue, his hunting rifle slung casually over his shoulder, his faithful dog trotting beside him. In the distance, the steeple of Middelharnis church beckons like a beacon of faith, while ships' masts hint at the bustling maritime commerce that made the Dutch Republic the envy of Europe.

This is De Allee van Middelharnis – known in English as The Avenue at Middelharnis – painted in 1689 by Meindert Hobbema, a masterpiece that would become "the swan song of Holland's great period of landscape painting". But the story behind this painting is far more compelling than its serene surface suggests.

The Unlikely Comeback

What makes this painting extraordinary isn't just its breathtaking perspective or masterful composition – it's the fact that it exists at all. By 1689, Hobbema had essentially retired from professional painting twenty years earlier, when he took a steady job as Amsterdam's municipal wine-gauger. This unlikely career change came about through his marriage to Eeltje Vinck, the cook of Amsterdam's burgomaster, whose influence helped him secure this well-paid position weighing and measuring imported wines.

For two decades, Hobbema had largely abandoned his brushes for the bureaucratic world of wine taxation. Yet something – perhaps a stroll through the countryside near Middelharnis, perhaps one final artistic fire burning within him – inspired this aging civil servant to create what many consider his greatest masterpiece.

A Revolutionary Vision

The Avenue at Middelharnis shattered every convention of Hobbema's earlier work. Gone were his signature wooded landscapes with winding paths and water mills that had made him known as Jacob van Ruisdael's most accomplished pupil. Instead, he presented something daringly different: an almost geometrical composition with powerful central perspective that funneled the viewer's gaze directly into the heart of the painting.

The composition operates like an invisible three-dimensional grid. The avenue of alder trees – planted in 1664, just 25 years before Hobbema painted them – creates strong vertical lines that shoot upward toward the expansive sky. Meanwhile, the track turning off to the right and the lateral lines of paths and fields on the left draw the eye sideways into the landscape, creating what art historians describe as a masterful interplay of perspective.

The Rational Divine World

This isn't merely a pretty landscape – it's a visual manifesto of Dutch prosperity and Protestant values. Every element speaks to the rational, industrious character of the newly independent Dutch Republic. The trees have been "shredded" of their side-branches, ready for felling as poles. Cart tracks mark the dirt road. Ships' masts rise in the distance. Drainage ditches carry water to orchards where a man prunes with a knife. Even the wilder wooded area serves as a hunting ground.

The painting reflects the philosophical influence of René Descartes, who argued that presenting a rational world was presenting a divine world, since reason makes humans in God's image. The church steeple dominating the distant town serves as the ultimate symbol of faith governing this orderly universe. This was the new order of the Dutch Republic after independence from Spain – emphasizing land reclamation, commerce, and honest labor.

Technical Mastery and Historical Context

Hobbema painted this masterpiece on canvas measuring 103.5 by 141 centimeters using oil paints. The work demonstrates his evolution from the moody, stormy atmospheres favored by his master Ruisdael to a much lighter, brighter composition with crisp blue skies and masterful handling of light. Unfortunately, the sky has suffered damage from poor restoration attempts in the 19th century, though the billowing cloud to the right remains well-preserved.

The painting captures the village of Middelharnis on the island of Goeree-Overflakkee in South Holland with remarkable accuracy. The view shows the village from the southeast, with the road then called Boomgaardweg (now Steene Weg). The church tower visible in the distance would later be modified by the French in 1811, who removed its spire to create a semaphore station connecting The Hague with Paris.

A Time of Transformation

The year 1689 marked not just the end of the Dutch Golden Age but a period of profound change across Europe. The Dutch Republic, while still prosperous, was beginning to feel the pressures that would eventually end its status as a great power. The Glorious Revolution had just placed William of Orange on the English throne, linking Dutch and English destinies in new ways. Meanwhile, Louis XIV's expansionist policies were reshaping the European balance of power.

In this context, Hobbema's painting can be read as both a celebration of Dutch achievement and perhaps a nostalgic glance backward at a golden era drawing to a close. The rational, ordered world he depicted represented the ideals of a society that had transformed itself from Spanish subjects to masters of global trade through discipline, innovation, and Protestant work ethic.

Legacy of Influence

The painting's influence extended far beyond its time. Vincent van Gogh, upon seeing it at the National Gallery in 1884, wrote to his brother Theo: "Look out for the Hobbema". Van Gogh would go on to emulate its effects in several of his own paintings. Camille Pissarro likely drew inspiration from it for his The Avenue, Sydenham, and as recently as 2017, David Hockney created his own interpretation titled Tall Dutch Trees After Hobbema (Useful Knowledge).

The Artist's Tragic End

The story of Meindert Hobbema ends in pathos. Born in Amsterdam in 1638 as Meyndert Lubbertsz, the son of a carpenter, he spent time in an orphanage at age 15 before becoming Ruisdael's only documented pupil. Despite creating works that would inspire generations of artists, Hobbema received little recognition during his lifetime and was overshadowed by his famous teacher. The Dutch Golden Age was ending, conflicts across Europe were causing economic decline, and the market for art was shrinking.

When Hobbema died in 1709, both he and his wife were buried in pauper's graves. His final years were particularly harsh – his wife and two children died in 1704, leaving him alone for his last five years. Yet from this tragedy emerged one of the most beloved paintings in the history of Dutch art, a work that Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, the great specialist of a century ago, considered "the finest picture, next to Rembrandt's Syndics, which has been painted in Holland".

The Avenue at Middelharnis stands as testimony to the power of artistic vision to transcend personal circumstances and historical moment, creating something timelessly beautiful from the ordered landscape of a small Dutch village and the fading light of a golden age.

And that's it!

If you have any details you think Perplexity left out, reply to this email and I'll adjust my prompt to nudge it to include it next time.

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Thanks for reading!

-JP

Current prompt: I want you to create a newsletter post describing the fun and exciting stories around a painting. It should be a newsletter read for leisure and should be an enjoyable read (not just a list of facts) here's what you’re gonna do: Find the name of the following painting in its original language and any alternative names it goes by. Then Research the painting and give me blurb telling me all you can about the artist, the historical context/events it was created in, the style, the materials used, the composition and visual elements, the story/underlying message, what inspired the work/what it meant to the author, and whatever other info you find that helps give a complete understanding of the work. A description of what is depicted (mention subjects) should be the first thing, while the “biography” of the artist should be last. if the work has a lot of meaning behind it, then that is what the meat of the newsletter should be. Besides that you are free to present the information in a concise and captivating way, with the most interesting and novel stuff closest to the top. Order the presentation of information for which pieces have the most compelling and interesting story to tell. At least some of the description should be formatted like a story. [for example: a couple sits on a bench watching the sunset while a man next to them…]. ONLY include information that is for THIS SPECIFIC PAINTING. you will find info on paintings similar to this one but NOT this one. OMMIT INFO ABOUT SUCH PIECES. remember, the goal is to make the most compelling, intriguing, and fun to read newsletter as possible, so keep that above all else.