Wooded Landscape with Travelers

Although this landscape includes details that appear specific—from the pair of travelers crossing a bridge to the view of a city that recedes in the distance—it does not represent an actual location and was most likely drawn inside Bril’s studio in Rome. Nevertheless, the concern with conveying tangible atmospheric effects, the employment of a low vantage point, and the gradual projection of the sense of depth in this drawing are all signs of a movement toward greater realism in Bril’s art in the years around 1600. Celebrated for his ability to enliven his landscapes through illumination, the artist here transformed a swampy forest interior into a mesmerizing theater of light. He achieved this striking effect by juxtaposing heavily shaded sections, such as the gnarled tree trunks at left, and fields of lighter colors, like the rocky outcrop at center, with areas of paper left entirely unworked.