Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 37 works by Jan Wildens in our catalogue
In short
Of all the originals Jan Wildens left, the most famous is Landscape with hunters (1649), in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Close behind it come Landscape with Christ and his Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (1640) and Landscape with Rocky Formations (1600). Our catalog holds 37 works by Jan Wildens; the gallery has kept the 36 the world admires most, each shown with its date, its museum and its story.
A heavy, cloud-filled sky hangs over a lush, wooded expanse, casting a soft light across the terrain. In the mid-ground, hunters and their dogs move near a riverbank, their figures small against the scale of the trees. A single cottage sits nestled among the foliage, a quiet witness to the movement below. The air feels thick with the scent of damp earth and crushed leaves. Everything is held in a…
In the quietude of Jan Wildens’ 1640 masterpiece, Landscape with Christ and his Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, the viewer is invited into a moment of profound spiritual stillness. This monumental canvas does not merely depict a biblical event; it orchestrates a meditation on faith set against the restorative backdrop of the natural world. As we gaze upon the rolling hills and the dusty, winding path, we find ourselves…
A rugged topography dominates the canvas, where jagged, vertical lines of rock pierce the atmosphere. The earth here is heavy, composed of deep browns and ochres that anchor the composition in a shadowed foreground. Through the dense foliage and the roughness of stone, the eye travels toward a distant, hazy mountain range. Light spills from the upper right, catching the sharp edges of a cliff face while leaving the hollows…
In Latona and the Lycian Peasants, we encounter a significant collaboration between Jan Wildens and the Rubens-Werkstatt. This work, dating from about 1619, captures a specific moment of mythological tension. The scene focuses on the transformation of Latona, a subject that allows for a profound exploration of divine wrath and the sudden nature of metamorphosis. It is a work that relies on the tension between the earthly labor of the…
In this oil painting, titled Landscape; loving couples at breakfast, Jan Wildens presents a pastoral scene that invites a quiet contemplation of rural life. Created about 1611, the work captures several couples gathered in a meadow, enjoying a meal together in the open air. The figures are situated within a lush, natural setting, surrounded by the soft textures of a rolling landscape. There is a sense of calm in their…
In Transformation of Women into Magpies, Jan Wildens organizes a dramatic mythological landscape through a structured, theatrical arrangement. Large, towering trees on the left and right frame a central vista, directing the eye toward a distant valley. This central opening reveals a landscape under a soft, late-afternoon sky, where atmospheric perspective creates a sense of depth, leading the viewer from the detailed foreground through middle-ground woods to the far-off hills.…
Landscape with the Devil Sowing Tares by Jan Wildens, executed about 1635, presents a biblical allegory set within a wooded environment. The composition centers on the Parable of the Tares, a narrative of spiritual deception. A single figure, representing the Devil, moves through the terrain to sow weeds among the wheat.
Hunter with Dogs in a Landscape is a work by the Flemish painter Jan Wildens. Created in 1625, the piece emerges from the artist's long association with the landscape traditions of the Low Countries. The canvas captures a specific moment of movement within a rugged, wooded setting.
The sun hangs low on the horizon, casting a warm, diffused glow across a sprawling landscape that feels as though it is breathing. In this wide, panoramic scene, the air seems thick with the quiet tension of a fated encounter. Rebekah stands by the well, her presence a focal point amidst a gathering of travelers, camels, and livestock. The light of the setting sun catches the edges of the figures,…
The oil painting titled Boar Hunt was executed by the Flemish artist Jan Wildens. This work is a copy of a painting originating from the workshop of Peter Paul Rubens. It captures a moment of intense movement within the forest, rendered with the specific hand of Wildens. The piece dates to about 1640.
Pastorale1643 · Rubens House
12
August, harvest
13
Landscape with Dead Oak1600 · Museum Mayer van den Bergh
14
Landscape with figures1601 · Museo del Prado
15
Forest Landscape with Stream1619
16
Landscape with shearers1613 · Museo del Prado
17
Travellers at the ferry launch1617 · New York Historical Society
18
Landscape with a rainbow and lumberjacks1621 · Gemäldegalerie
19
Marshy Countryside1629 · Szépművészeti Múzeum
20
Landscape with Shepherds1631 · Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten
21
Landscape with love couple1640 · Kunsthistorisches Museum
22
Landscape with Thunderstorm1649 · Bavarian State Painting Collections
23
Landscape with Hunt of Meleager and Atalanta1650 · Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
24
Landscape with Gentlefolk and GypsiesMuseum of Fine Arts
25
Panoramic View of Antwerp from the East, Jan Wildens, 16361636 · Rijksmuseum
26
Stag huntHermitage Museum
27
Horse Attacked by DogsHermitage Museum
28
Mercury and Argus
29
Road on the bank of the stream
30
A wooded landscape with a figure on horseback and shepherds with their flock on a path, a castle bayond
31
Wolves Attacking a HorseHermitage Museum
32
Joseph sold by his BrothersFundacion Banco Santander
33
Infant Christ and St. John the Babtist in a landscape.National Museum in Warsaw
34
The St. Bernard Abbey in HemiksemRoyal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
35
Landscape with Peasants
36
Winter Landscape with a Hunter1624 · Gemäldegalerie
The four subjects that come back most often in these originals, each with its finest example.
The 8 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by Jan Wildens | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Hermitage Museum |
Saint Petersburg | 5 | Landscape with Christ and his Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Hunter with Dogs in a Landscape, Stag hunt |
 Bavarian State Painting Collections |
Munich | 3 | Latona and the Lycian Peasants, Boar Hunt, Landscape with Thunderstorm |
 Kunsthistorisches Museum |
Vienna | 2 | Landscape with hunters, Landscape with love couple |
 Museum Mayer van den Bergh |
Antwerp | 2 | Landscape with Rocky Formations, Landscape with Dead Oak |
 Museo del Prado |
Madrid | 2 | Landscape with figures, Landscape with shearers |
 Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp |
Antwerp | 2 | Landscape with Hunt of Meleager and Atalanta, The St. Bernard Abbey in Hemiksem |
 Yekaterinburg Museum of Fine Arts |
Yekaterinburg | 1 | Transformation of Women into Magpies |
 Royal Collection |
London | 1 | Landscape with the Devil Sowing Tares |
Pick a decade to see the original that defines it.
A rugged topography dominates the canvas, where jagged, vertical lines of rock pierce the atmosphere. The earth here is heavy, composed of deep browns and ochres that anchor the composition in a shadowed foreground. Through the dense foliage and the roughness of stone, the eye travels toward a distant, hazy mountain range. Light spills from the upper right, catching the sharp edges of a cliff face while leaving the hollows…
In Latona and the Lycian Peasants, we encounter a significant collaboration between Jan Wildens and the Rubens-Werkstatt. This work, dating from about 1619, captures a specific moment of mythological tension. The scene focuses on the transformation of Latona, a subject that allows for a profound exploration of divine wrath and the sudden nature of metamorphosis. It is a work that relies on the tension between the earthly labor of the…
Hunter with Dogs in a Landscape is a work by the Flemish painter Jan Wildens. Created in 1625, the piece emerges from the artist's long association with the landscape traditions of the Low Countries. The canvas captures a specific moment of movement within a rugged, wooded setting.
In Transformation of Women into Magpies, Jan Wildens organizes a dramatic mythological landscape through a structured, theatrical arrangement. Large, towering trees on the left and right frame a central vista, directing the eye toward a distant valley. This central opening reveals a landscape under a soft, late-afternoon sky, where atmospheric perspective creates a sense of depth, leading the viewer from the detailed foreground through middle-ground woods to the far-off hills.…
A heavy, cloud-filled sky hangs over a lush, wooded expanse, casting a soft light across the terrain. In the mid-ground, hunters and their dogs move near a riverbank, their figures small against the scale of the trees. A single cottage sits nestled among the foliage, a quiet witness to the movement below. The air feels thick with the scent of damp earth and crushed leaves. Everything is held in a…
Landscape with Hunt of Meleager and Atalanta by Jan Wildens, executed about 1650, presents a dramatic scene set within a dense, wooded environment. The composition centers on a group of hunters, horses, and hounds engaged in a frantic pursuit. This activity likely represents the mythological hunt of Meleager and Atalanta.
Landscape with hunters (1649), Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Landscape with Christ and his Disciples on the Road to Emmaus (1640) and Landscape with Rocky Formations (1600) come next.
63 years old: Landscape with hunters dates from 1649, and Jan Wildens was born in 1586.
Landscape with hunters, Landscape with Christ and his Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Landscape with Rocky Formations, Latona and the Lycian Peasants, Landscape; loving couples at breakfast, Transformation of Women into Magpies, Landscape with the Devil Sowing Tares, Hunter with Dogs in a Landscape, Rebekah and Eliezer at the well (Genesis 24:18-19) and Boar Hunt. The ranking above gives each one's year and museum.
Our catalog holds 37 works by Jan Wildens, dated from 1600 to 1650.
Mostly in Hermitage Museum (Saint Petersburg), Bavarian State Painting Collections (Munich) and Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna). The museum table above lists them all.
In 1640s: 6 of the 36 works on this page were made then, Landscape with hunters among them.
On this page, the earliest is Landscape with Rocky Formations (1600) and the latest Landscape with Hunt of Meleager and Atalanta (1650).
Trees (18), Landscape (15) and Sky (15), across the 36 works on this page.
Oil On Canvas, for 17 of the 36 works on this page.
Flemish baroque, judging by the originals on this page.
Landscape with Christ and his Disciples on the Road to Emmaus, Hunter with Dogs in a Landscape and Stag hunt: the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg holds 5 of the works on this page.
Jan Wildens, born in the vibrant heart of Antwerp in 1586, stands as a pivotal figure within the Flemish Baroque landscape tradition. His artistic legacy rests upon meticulously rendered scenes imbued with a profound sense of tranquility and realism—a stylistic hallmark that cemented his reputation alongside luminaries such as Peter Paul Rubens and Jan Bril. Unlike many of his contemporaries who embraced dramatic theatricality and turbulent compositions, Wildens cultivated an aesthetic rooted in keen observation and subtle detail. He possessed a unique ability to capture the very essence of rural life and urban vistas alike, presenting the world not through a lens of chaos, but through a window of quiet, enduring beauty.
The foundations of his mastery were laid during a formative youth in Antwerp. While his father, Hendrick Wildens, was a respected merchant, Jan’s path was destined for the easel. Following the untimely passing of his father, he was raised by his mother, Magdalena van Vosbergen, and her second husband, Cornelis Cock. This domestic environment placed him within the orbit of the great masters, as Cock was the stepfather to Cornelis de Vos, a connection that would weave Jan into the very fabric of the Antwerp artistic elite. At only sixteen years of age, Wildens entered the prestigious Antwerp Guild of St. Luke, apprenticing under Pieter van der Hulst (I). Under this tutelage, he mastered the foundational techniques of landscape composition and light, developing the precise visual language that would later allow him to breathe life into both sprawling panoramas and intimate biblical settings.
The most significant chapter in Wildens’ illustrious career was undoubtedly his profound artistic partnership with Peter Paul Rubens. This was not merely a relationship of student and master, but a true collaboration of equals that elevated the landscape genre within the Baroque movement. Their work together spanned numerous monumental projects, most notably the breathtaking Decius Mus tapestry series commissioned by Cardinal Ferdinand. In these grand compositions, Wildens was entrusted with creating the atmospheric cityscapes that provided the stage for historical drama, specifically contributing two magnificent views of Antwerp’s grandeur. This association allowed Wildens to merge his talent for detailed realism with Rubens' epic narrative scale, propelling him to the heights of European recognition.
Beyond these large-scale commissions, Wildens demonstrated a remarkable versatility in subject matter. His ability to transition from the architectural precision of urban landscapes to the spiritual stillness of religious narratives is evident in his diverse body of work. For instance:
The historical significance of Jan Wildens lies in his role as a bridge between the detailed, observational traditions of the late Renaissance and the more expansive, emotive landscapes of the high Baroque. He avoided the trap of mere decoration, instead using the landscape to ground grand narratives in a tangible, recognizable reality. His work provided the essential "breath" for the larger-than-life figures of Rubens' compositions, offering a sense of place that made the mythological and historical scenes feel grounded in the physical world.
As we look back upon his life, which concluded in 1653, we see an artist who mastered the art of the subtle. Through his dedication to light, texture, and atmosphere, Wildens ensured that the landscapes of Flanders would be remembered not just as backgrounds, but as enduring characters in the story of Western art. His ability to find the extraordinary within the ordinary continues to captivate collectors and historians, serving as a testament to the power of a steady, observant eye.
