Mountainous Landscape with Mine and Ore Smelter

Among Valckenborch’s specialities were depictions of rocky landscapes, often in combination with ore smelters. The one shown here is in keeping with the technology of the day, depicted down to the last detail. The painter apparently had studied it exactly. On the right is a lime-kiln and in the centre a smelting furnace with tap spout and an overshot waterwheel with a flume for washing out ore. The landscape is possibly that of the area around Beaufort Castle on the Meuse River.