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Cornelis Decker, 'A Cottage among Trees on the Bank of a Stream', 1669

Key facts
Full title A Cottage among Trees on the Bank of a Stream
Artist Cornelis Decker
Artist dates before 1623; died 1678
Date made 1669
Medium and support oil on canvas
Dimensions 65.2 × 77.5 cm
Inscription summary Signed; Dated
Acquisition credit Bought, 1891
Inventory number NG1341
Location Not on display
Collection Main Collection
A Cottage among Trees on the Bank of a Stream
Cornelis Decker
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Cornelis Decker is a little-known Dutch landscape painter who lived and worked in Haarlem, often painting in the manner of Jacob van Ruisdael – as he does in this picture. It shows the view of a hilly landscape with trees tossing in the wind and a stream running through rocky terrain. On the hillside there’s a thatched cottage with a dovecote perched on top and a little family gathered at the door. Further down the slope, a horseman splashing through the water pauses to speak to a man with a dog. A second man runs ahead encouraging his hounds onwards with a waving arm.

But Decker’s work lacks the precision and drama of van Ruisdael’s. There is little sense of movement, especially in the sky; the multiple shades of green that van Ruisdael achieves are missing; and the rocks in the background have no real substance.

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