View of the Tiber Near the Aventine Hill

The subject
The serene flow of the River Tiber, a setting for numerous daily activities that took place along its banks, was one of the preferred subjects of the artists of Vedutism, of which Hendrik van Lint was a great master. The view portrayed by the painter in this piece is the stretch of river that runs south by the Aventine Hill, on the summit of which clearly rises the complex of churches and structures that today houses the Embassy and the Knights of Malta.

The painting

This painting is one of a pair, both of the same dimensions, which depict different views of the Tiber. The son of the Flemish painter, Pieter van Lint, Hendrik did not appear to be particularly influenced by his father (also because his father died when he was a child) but rather appeared keen to distance himself from the style of his father, who was still strongly influenced by an exquisitely Flemish manner, feeling himself instead more attracted to landscape painting than figure painting.

In Rome he collaborated with Gaspar Van Wittel, whose style influenced him so strongly that in some landscapes it is difficult to distinguish the two artists. Van Lint signed nearly all his pieces.