Halt of Travellers Size:large An ancient temple provides the

An ancient temple provides the architectural backdrop against which the action is staged

This picture has just returned from conservation as part of a major project funded by the Getty Foundation

told by Houbraken

probably of the famous classical statue of Venus Callipygeia ('Venus of the beautiful behind')

the story of which is recounted in many sources including Ovid's "Metamorphoses" V

Halt of Travellers Size:large An ancient temple provides theAn early work comparable with the Landscape with a Rider resting in the Museum der Bildenden Knste, Leipzig, of 1646. F. Duparc suggests a date of c. 1647 49, which seems likely given the signature style of 'PHILS. W' (PHILS in monogram), which came into use in 1646. The use of a diagonal skyline and the coarse figures is typical of Wouwerman's output during a period when he was heavily under the influence of Pieter van Laer.