Aert van der Neer

Aert van der Neer was a Dutch Golden Age painter renowned for his atmospheric nocturnal landscapes and winter scenes illuminated by moonlight or the glow of fire. Born in Gorinchem around 1603, he spent most of his career in Amsterdam, where he developed a distinctive mastery of light effects on water, snow, and sky. Despite his artistic brilliance, he struggled financially throughout his life and died in relative obscurity in 1677, only gaining widespread recognition and high auction values posthumously.