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Description: | Signed: yes Description: 'This modest sized landscape is exceptional because it exemplifies the achievement of the whole tradition of Dutch landscape painting in the middle years of the 17th century. On the one hand it reflects the formal tradition begun in Haarlem in the early part of the century, and on the other it emphasises the new feeling of naturalism which was specifically introduced by Ruisdael in the middle years of the century. Almost all of Jacob van Ruisdael's apparently naturalistic landscapes are entirely imaginary. Known views are mostly altered to suit artistic needs and even the celebrated views of Haarlem are taken from an entirely imaginary high viewpoint. This particular painting suggests the Dutch countryside far to the east of Amsterdam in the province of Gelderland. In this area the landscape did not have the utter flatness of the reclaimed land around Haarlem. Old oak trees flourished, although by the 17th century very many of them had been cut down to provide material for ship-building.' (Wright, 2002, p. 56). | Subjects: | landscape | Source: | Vads | Creator: | Artist: Ruisdael, Jacob van (Dutch painter and draftsman, born 1628 or 1629, died 1682) Æ | Identifier: | http://www.vads.ac.uk/large.php?uid=8712... | Go to resource |
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