Johann Edler Goll van Frankenstein (Frankfurt 1722-1785 Velsen)

The Amsterdam banker Johan Edler Goll van Frankenstein was one of the greatest collectors of his time and one of the most gifted amateur draughtsmen of his generation. His drawings clearly show the influence of the art of the Dutch Golden Age, which proved to be an inspiration for so many 18th Century Dutch artists, but at the same time they foreshadow the art of the Romantic era to come.
Substantial in size, but refined in execution and composition, this sheet ranks among the artist's most accomplished drawings. While the view has not been identified with certainty, it has been suggested that it may depict a wood near Roosendaal (Polak and Peeters, op. cit.).