The Stone Bridge

The people in this town view were painted by someone else. Van der Heyden laid out the bridge, the brickwork and the water, and Adriaen van de Velde added the woman going down the steps to the canal and the man walking his dog on the right.

Adriaen came from a family of painters. His father was Willem van de Velde the Elder, who drew sea battles in ink, and his brother Willem painted ships in oils. Adriaen himself painted landscapes with cattle and was often asked to people other artists' pictures. He died in January 1672, which gives this panel its latest possible date. The canal is put together from Amsterdam motifs, and on the pier of the bridge stand the broken remains of a statue.