
Jan De Boer
(1877-1946)
Meizon on the Veluwe
c. 1930
Signed, Oil paint on board
39,5 x 49 cm
Jan de Boer was an autodidact who worked in the symbolist style. In the final decades of his life, he spent a lot of time in the Veluwe, a forest-rich ridge of hills in the Dutch province of Gelderland.
Although most of his works are explicit fantasy landscapes – with princesses strolling through dreamlike ocean settings – in this painting De Boer manages to transform the commonplace and elevate it to something metaphysical. He draws our attention to the near-magical experience of sunset, an experience we all share.
The title of the painting refers to Meizon (the Sun of May, the national emblem of Argentina and Uruguay) which in turn refers to Inti, the Incan god of the sun. This painting must count among De Boer’s most successful works, as he shows how the radiant golden yellow sun touches the landscape.