National Gallery, London
Landscape painting became very popular in Holland in the 1600s. In this picture perspective is very important. In a very flat country, it can be hard to judge how far away things are. Hobbema has used this straight road with two rows of tall trees to give a feeling of how far away the town is. At first glance this painting seems quite symmetrical. But Hobbema has added lots of differences to make the painting more interesting, balancing a farmhouse on one side with a church on the other and making the two rows of trees quite different.