Wooded Landscape with a Brook

A large tree stands on the left, and a brook flows toward the viewer between it and the thicket at the right rear. Among the trees at the right rear, a white stream like a waterfall can also be seen. On the riverbank in the foreground are a few figures and animals, and the sky is blue with clouds.

The work uses aerial perspective, in which color shifts gradually from a brown foreground to a green middle ground and a blue distance, together with a classical composition. Diffused light fills the space, and the commentary says it draws the viewer into contemplation amid deep stillness. It is thought to be based on a real view of the Campagna near Rome, and there is a large drawing of the same place by the Dutch artist Breenbergh (Louvre Museum).

From the figures, the scene is presumed to be an episode from ancient Greek mythology, Cupid and Psyche. The reading is that the woman seated at the center of the foreground is Psyche, abandoned by her lover Cupid and lost in deep thought, being comforted by a farmer.