The Avenue at Middelharnis

Dutch painter Meindert Hobbema painted this striking perspective view in 1689, showing a road lined with tall, spindly trees leading to the village of Middelharnis. The composition is daringly simple: the avenue drives straight into the distance, dividing the canvas symmetrically while tiny figures and buildings establish the vast scale.

The painting came over twenty years after Hobbema largely abandoned painting to take a job as a wine gauger for Amsterdam's customs service. Why he returned to paint this work remains unknown. The trees had been planted in 1664, and the view still exists today, though much changed from the 17th century.

The work has been celebrated since at least the 19th century, with one specialist calling it "the finest picture, next to Rembrandt's Syndics, which has been painted in Holland." It's been at the National Gallery in London since 1871.