Catalogue entry
JACOB VAN RUISDAEL, 1628 or 1629(?)‐1682
990 An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church
, 1991
Extracted from:
Neil MacLaren; revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, The Dutch School 1600–1900 (London: National Gallery Publications Limited, 1991).
Jacob van Ruisdael, An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church (No. 990) © The National Gallery, London
Signed in the water, bottom right: JvRuiʃdael (JvR in monogram).
J. van Ruisdael (No. 990) © The National Gallery, London
Oil on canvas, 109 × 146 cm (43 × 57½).
Cleaned in 1939, 1947 and 1971; there are scattered small damages in the sky. Some damages also along the bottom edge.
Discussion
There are at least four other landscapes by Ruisdael that show the same view or part of it. Most of these, as well as No. 990, are said in nineteenth‐century catalogues to be views near Haarlem, and one of them was so described as early as 1761. Hofstede de Groot1 has suggested the church in the centre is that of Beverwijk (St Agatha), about seven miles north of Haarlem.
In the various versions of this view the only part of the church sufficiently visible to be identifiable is the tower. The fifteenth‐century tower of Beverwijk church (St Agatha) was completely restored in 1913 after a fire but its appearance in Ruisdael’s time is shown in a painting by Jan Abrahamsz. Beerstraaten (1622–66).2 This shows that it had entirely different fenestration from that of the tower in Ruisdael’s paintings and did not have the balustrade that appears in them, and it seems unlikely that Ruisdael intended to represent Beverwijk. Furthermore, judging by the orientation of the church the view must be towards the south, and if this were Beverwijk the characteristic silhouette of the Grote Kerk of Haarlem (St Bavo) should be visible on the horizon (as in many of Ruisdael’s views in the vicinity of the town); it appears, however, in only one of the versions.3
If No. 990 is the picture in the Gildemeester sale of 1800, as seems most probable (see PROVENANCE), it was then said to be a view in Gooiland (a district to the east of Amsterdam extending from the Zuider Zee to below Hilversum). The same suggestion has been made (apropos the partial version of this view in the Smith College Museum mentioned below) by Vorenkamp,4 who thinks it might be a view in the vicinity of Blaricum in Gooiland; according to him the two towers are in the style of the local architecture.
In any case the differences between the versions show that Ruisdael was not attempting strict topographical accuracy here.
Several versions of this composition are listed below. That nearest to No. 990 is the picture formerly in the Hope and Kempner collections (Fig. 93); it has some variations of detail in the buildings and the landscape, and the lighting is different. Ruisdael No. 2561 of this catalogue varies considerably from both No. 990 and the ex‐Kempner picture. Yet another variation of this view is in the Petit Palais, Paris; if not original it is presumably an old copy of a lost Ruisdael, and is nearest in design to No. 2561. The ruins and moat reappear, with variations, in the foreground of a version in a private collection in England.5 In a view in the Smith College Museum, Northampton, USA,6 the two churches and the windmill occur in approximately the same positions but the surrounding country is quite different.
Jacob van Ruisdael, An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church. Canvas, 39.4 × 44.4 cm. Ex‐Kempner Collection. (See Ruisdael No. 990.)
All the variants are much smaller than No. 990. No. 2561 below has often been described as a study for it but the nature of the differences makes this improbable. The ex‐Kempner picture is very much nearer to No. 990 but it, too, seems to be a version rather than a study.
The small figure of a man standing among the ruins in the right foreground and the swans in the moat are by Ruisdael; the two peasants and their animals in the left foreground are clearly by Adriaen van de Velde.
Rosenberg acceptably dates No. 990, on stylistic grounds, in the second half of the 60s.7 Adriaen van de Velde’s death in January 16728 gives a terminus ante quem. To judge by the style, No. 2561 and the ex‐Kempner version were also painted about this time.
VERSIONS: A small version is in a private collection, New York (ex‐Kempner).9 Smith describes a picture in the E. W. Lake collection (afterwards in the Artis sale, 1851) as a small ‘repetition’ of Ruisdael No. 990.10 Ruisdael No. 2561 of this catalogue is a small variant of the composition. Another variant is in the Dutuit collection at the Petit Palais, Paris.11
PROVENANCE: Identified by Smith12 with a picture by Ruisdael in the Jan Gildemeester Jansz. sale, Amsterdam, 11 sqq. June 1800 (lot 190),13 bought by Thys (315 guilders).14 In the collection of the Marquis de Marialva, Paris, who died in 1823; bought privately by John Smith apparently in 182515 and in the John Smith sale, London, 2–3 May 1828 (lot 78*), bought by Richard Abraham16 (450 gns); exhibited with the rest of Abraham’s collection at the American Academy of Fine Arts, New York, in 1830;17 Richard Abraham sale, London, 28 June 1831 (lot 69), 275 gns. In the collection of Richard Sanderson, London, by 1835;18 Richard Sanderson sale, London, 17 June 1848 (lot 23),19 bought by Brown (480 gns). It was in the Wynn Ellis collection, apparently by 1850 or 1851, certainly before 1854;20 Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876.
EXHIBITIONS: New York, American Academy of Fine Arts, 1830 ; London 1947–8, No. 75; London 1976, No. 98; The Hague and Cambridge, Mass., 1981–2, No. 43.
REFERENCES:
General: Smith No. 214; HdG Nos. 136, 758 and 844d; Rosenberg, op. cit. , No. 24.
In text:
1. See HdG Nos. 35b, 36, 750 and 758. (Back to text.)
2. Formerly in the possession of Douwes, Amsterdam. Signed: JB; a photograph is in the National Gallery archives. A watercolour drawing by Carel Frederik Bendorp (1736–1814) in the Leiden University Library shows the church unaltered since Beerstraaten’s time. For the topography of Beverwijk, see H. J. J. Scholten, ‘Salomon van Ruysdael in de contreien van Holland’s landengte’, OH , vol. 77, 1962, pp. 1 ff. (Back to text.)
3. HdG No. 775, identical with HdG No. 812; Rosenberg, op. cit. , No. 63a, identical with Rosenberg, No. 512; Private collection, England. (See below, note 5.) The minute spire on the horizon in the centre of No. 990, just to the left of the windmill, is too small to be identifiable but could hardly be intended for St Bavo. The Sanderson 1848 sale catalogue says that Haarlem ‘great church’ forms ‘a prominent object in the distance’; this can only refer to the church in the centre mid‐distance or that towards the left, and the identification is wrong. HdG (No. 66a) is mistaken in saying that the tower of ‘Haarlem church’ can be seen in the smaller of the two National Gallery views (No. 2561). (Back to text.)
4. A. P. A. Vorenkamp in Smith College Museum of Art Bulletin, June 1947, pp. 9–10. (Back to text.)
5. Smith No. 215; HdG Nos. 775 and 812; Rosenberg, op. cit. , No. 512. 53.5 × 61 cm.; signed. The size is often given wrongly as 29 × 32 in., e.g. in the Toronto exhibition catalogues of 1926, 1940, 1950 and 1954. The picture was in the collection of Bouchier Cleve, Foots Cray Place (R. and J. Dodsley, London & its Environs Described, vol. 2, 1761, p. 315: ‘A view near Haarlem Ruysdale’) and passed to Sir George Yonge; Yonge sale, London, 24–5 March 1806 (lot 65), bought by Mortimer; William Wells sale, London, 12–13 May 1848 (lot 58), bought in; exhibited at the RA , 1876, No. 6, lent by W. Wells; William Wells sale, London 10–12 May 1890 (lot 95), bought by M. Colnaghi. It was in the collection of Samuel S. Joseph, London, by 1891 when it was lent to the RA (No. 77). Later in the collection of J. H. Dunn, London; sold by Knoedler, London, in October 1923 to Frank P. Wood of Toronto, where it was often exhibited, 1926–54. Also exhibited Knoedler, New York, Loan Exhibition of Dutch Masters, November 1925 , No. 20. Inherited in 1955 by Mrs R. M. Nesbitt, Haslemere. Except for the foreground this picture repeats, with variations, a view of Overveen in Berlin ( HdG No. 57; Rosenberg, op. cit. , No. 40). (Back to text.)
6. Canvas, 31.5 × 41 cm. From the Lespinasse de Langeac(?) collection, Paris; J. L. Laneuville sale, Paris, 6 November 1811, bought by Pérignon; James Simon (Berlin) sale, Amsterdam, 25–6 October 1927 (lot 41); J. Goudstikker, Amsterdam; bought by Smith College in 1943. HdG Nos. 35b and 128; reproduced by Vorenkamp, loc. cit. , and in the Simon sale catalogue. (Back to text.)
7. Op. cit. , p. 54. This dating is supported by Slive and Hoetink, op. cit. , No. 43. (Back to text.)
8. He was buried in Amsterdam on 21 January 1672 ( OH , vol. 4, 1886, p. 144). (Back to text.)
9. Canvas, 39.5 × 44.5 cm. In the Kalkbrenner collection, Paris, 1835; [G. T. Braine] sale, London, 6 April 1857 (lot 31), bought by Nieuwenhuys; Adrian Hope sale, London, 30 June 1894 (lot 61), bought by M. Colnaghi; Lt.‐Col. E. Molyneux sale, London, 10 December 1898 (lot 120), bought by Agnew; Kempner collection, Berlin, 1911. According to Slive and Hoetink ( op. cit. , p. 125) the painting is now in a private collection, New York. ( HdG No. 750; Rosenberg, op. cit. , No. 463; reproduced in the Hope 1894 sale catalogue.) Smith (Supplement No. 10) calls it a view ‘in the vicinity of Haarlem’. (Back to text.)
10. 40.5 × 44.5 cm. C. J. West (of Norwich) sale, London, 21 March 1835 (lot 60), bought by Lake; E. W. Lake sale, London, 11–12 July 1845 (lot 106), bought by Artis; R. Artis sale, London, 17 May 1851 (lot 38), bought by Gibson. ( HdG No. 776.) The identification of this picture with National Gallery No. 2561 (National Gallery catalogue, 1915–29) is disproved by the descriptions in the catalogues of the Lake and Artis sales (which are almost word for word the same): ‘A landscape exhibiting a picturesque view over a flat country [the Artis catalogue adds ‘in the Environs of Haarleim’ (sic)]. In the centre is a church, with its spire partially concealed by trees; and beyond, to the left, a windmill. [It is not possible to say whether, in these two catalogues, right and left refers to the spectator or the picture.] In the foreground are the ruins of a fortification with its stagnant moat. The brilliant sky is partially screened by masses of clouds, from which bursts a transient gleam of sunshine, which glances … on the windmill and the adjacent fields, whilst the rest of the landscape is partially obscured by shadow … carefully finished …’ According to Smith (Supplement No. 85) it is a ‘carefully finished repetition in small’ of his No. 214 (National Gallery No. 990). (Back to text.)
11. Canvas, 42 × 46 cm.; signed. Dutuit collection catalogue, 1925, No. 927; HdG No. 74. K. E. Simon considered it an old ‘repetition’, not by Ruisdael (see pp. 79–80 of the 1930 addenda to his Jacob van Ruisdael of 1927). It is accepted, however, as autograph by Rosenberg ( op. cit. , No. 61) and Slive and Hoetink ( op. cit. , p. 125). (Back to text.)
12. Smith No. 214. (Back to text.)
13. ‘VUE EN GOILAND. Sur une colline au devant du tableau se voyent des débris de murailles, derrière lesquels un berger fait pâtre ses brebis. Le paysage offre des moissons en herbe, et des pays incultes sont vers le fond. Un ciel ornageux [sic] réfléchissant sur la terre, y produit un effet … de clair obscur …’; canvas, 43 × 57 pouces. (Back to text.)
14. Not Tays, as in HdG (No. 136). (Back to text.)
15. Smith No. 214. (Back to text.)
16. There is a nearly contemporary MS annotation in the copy of the Abraham 1831 sale catalogue in the RKD ; the catalogue says the picture belonged formerly to the Marquis de Marialva, the MS note adds: ‘& Mr Smith in whose Colln it was bot by Mr Abrahams for 420Gs now in the Possession of Richd Sanderson Esqr sold by Mr Smith for 330£.’ Abraham’s exhibition and his subsequent arrest in New York is discussed by Slive and Hoetink ( op. cit. , p. 126). (Back to text.)
17. See p. 4 of the Abraham 1831 sale catalogue. (Back to text.)
18. Smith No. 214. (Back to text.)
19. As ‘A grand extensive View … towards Haerlem’ etc.; see also note 3. (Back to text.)
20. Waagen (1854, vol. 2, pp. 296–7) describes the picture when in the Wynn Ellis collection. Earlier in the same volume (pp. 288–9) he describes it as in the Richard Sanderson collection. Although the two descriptions vary, there can be no doubt that both refer to the National Gallery picture. It is improbable that Waagen saw the picture in the Sanderson collection when he visited England in 1850 and 1851 (see Waagen, op. cit. , vol. 1, pp. iii and iv); the picture was in the Sanderson sale of 1848 and the form of the entry in the auctioneer’s copy of the sale catalogue shows it was not bought in. Waagen had seen the Sanderson pictures in 1835 ( Works of Art and Artists in England, 1838, vol. 2, pp. 399–400); as the descriptions of them in the 1854 Treasures of Art repeat almost word for word those in the 1838 volume it seems highly likely that he did not see them again on his later visits but included them in the 1854 publication in the belief that they were still in the same collection. The matter has been further confused because the provisional catalogue of the Manchester Art Treasures exhibition of 1857 makes it appear that the National Gallery picture was lent by Sanderson to that exhibition; the reference to it is, however, omitted in the definitive edition of the catalogue and its inclusion in the earlier edition is clearly an error. The provisional catalogue lists two Ruisdaels as Sanderson’s: No. 843, ‘Landscape, with Figures by A. Van de Velde. W[aagen], vol. 2, p. 288’ and No. 846, ‘Extensive Landscape with figures by Adrian Van de Velde. W[aagen] vol. 2, p. 289’. Besides the National Gallery picture, Sanderson owned one other Ruisdael, a rocky landscape with a waterfall (see Waagen, 1854, vol. 2, p. 289, and HdG Nos. 384 and 721; the page references to Waagen have been mixed up in both the provisional catalogue and the definitive edition). In the definitive catalogue there is only one Sanderson Ruisdael, No. 699 ‘Landscape, with Figures by A. Van de Velde. W[aagen] vol. 2, p. 288’; this is certainly the waterfall landscape, as is proved by a sketch made at the time by George Scharf (p. 69 of sketch‐book No. 50 in the archives of the National Portrait Gallery). This picture had been bought in at Sanderson’s sale, London, 17 June 1848, lot 14, and remained in his collection until the R. Sanderson (deceased) sale, London, 20 March 1858 (it was lot 12). W. Bürger in Trésors d’art exposés à Manchester … (1857, p. 296) mentions two Sanderson Ruisdaels without describing them; he was doubtless misled by the entries in the provisional catalogue. (Back to text.)
Abbreviations
- OH
- Oud Holland, Amsterdam, 1883—1972, The Hague, 1973–
3 Other Abbreviations
- RA
- Royal Academy of Arts, London; Royal Academician
- RKD
- The Netherlands Institute for Art History (Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie), The Hague. Artists database, Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague (online), 2000– (https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists)
List of archive references cited
- London, National Portrait Gallery, Archives: George Scharf, sketch‐book No. 50
- The Hague, Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie: annotated copy of the Abraham 1831 sale catalogue
List of references cited
- Bürger 1857
- Bürger, W., Trésors d’art exposés à Manchester …, Paris 1857
- Davies 1959
- Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The British School, revised edn, London 1959
- Davies and Gould 1970
- Davies, Martin, revised by Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post‐Impressionists, etc., London 1970
- Dodsley 1761
- Dodsley, R. and J. Dodsley, London and its Environs Described, London 1761, 2
- Hofstede de Groot 1907–28
- Hofstede de Groot, C., Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 10 vols (vols 9 and 10 are in German), London, Stuttgart and Paris 1907–28
- Rosenberg 1927
- Rosenberg, J., in Jahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen, 1927, 48, 139‐51
- Scholten 1962
- Scholten, H.J.J., ‘Salomon van Ruysdael in de contreien van Holland’s landengte’, Oud Holland, 1962, 77
- Slive 1970–4
- Slive, S., Frans Hals, London 1970–74
- Smith 1829–42
- Smith, John, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters … (with Supplement), 9 vols, London 1829–42
- Vorenkamp 1947
- Vorenkamp, A.P.A., in Smith College Museum of Art Bulletin, June 1947, 9–10
- Waagen 1854–7
- Waagen, Gustav Friedrich, Treasures of Art in Great Britain: Being an Account of the Chief Collections of Paintings, Drawings, Sculptures, Illuminated Mss., &c. &c., ed. and trans. Lady E. Eastlake, 3 vols, London 1854 (Galleries and Cabinets of Art in Great Britain, London 1857, supplement (vol. 4))
List of exhibitions cited
- London 1947–8, National Gallery
- London, National Gallery, An Exhibition of Cleaned Pictures (1936–1947), 1947–8
- London 1976
- London, National Gallery, Art in Seventeenth–Century Holland, 1976
- Manchester 1857
- Manchester, Old Trafford, Exhibition Hall, Art Treasures of the United Kingdom Collected at Manchester in 1857, 5 May–17 October 1857
- New York 1830
- New York, American Academy of Fine Arts, 1830
- The Hague and Cambridge, Mass. 1981‐2
- The Hague, Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis; Cambridge, Mass., Fogg Art Museum, Jacob van Ruisdael, 1981‐2
Explanatory Notes on the Catalogue
SEQUENCE The paintings are arranged alphabetically according to the name of the artist or school.
ATTRIBUTION A picture catalogued under the name of the artist is considered to be by him. ‘Attributed to’ qualifies the attribution. ‘Ascribed to’ indicates a greater degree of doubt. ‘Workshop of’ or ‘Follower of’ are self‐explanatory. ‘Style of’ indicates that the painting is an imitation or copy painted after the artist’s lifetime. A list of attributions which have been changed from the first edition of this catalogue (published in 1960) is given on pages 510–13.
INVENTORY NUMBER The National Gallery inventory number is to be found to the left of the picture title.
MEASUREMENTS These are given in centimetres, followed by inches in brackets. Height precedes width.
RIGHT and LEFT These indicate the viewer’s right and left, unless the context clearly implies the contrary.
BIOGRAPHIES MacLaren’s biographical notes on painters have been expanded and brought up to date when there is no accessible and reliable modern literature. Where such literature exists, these notes have been kept to a minimum.
REFERENCES The bibliographical references, though selective, include publications which appeared before mid‐1989. References to books and articles which appeared subsequently and which the author considered to be of importance are referred to within square brackets but could not be taken into account in the catalogue entries themselves.
LISTS AND INDEXES At the back of this volume are lists of paintings acquired since the last edition of this catalogue and changed attributions. There are also indexes to religious subjects, profane subjects, topography, previous owners, years of acquisition and inventory number.
ILLUSTRATIONS The plates of the paintings included in the catalogue are in the second volume, together with all the signatures which could be reproduced. The comparative plates are included in Volume 1.
VAN ‘van’ has been used in lower case throughout in accordance with The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors. The ‘van’ has been omitted for certain artists as is customary, e.g. ‘Jacob van Ruisdael’, but ‘Ruisdael’.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES ‘ op. cit. ’ may refer back to books and articles referred to under the artist’s biography (rather than in the particular catalogue entry).
CHRISTIE’S AND SOTHEBY’S Unless another location is mentioned, the sales referred to took place in London.
CLEANING The cleaning of paintings which took place before 1945 is not referred to, unless the circumstances were exceptional.
CONDITION All the paintings have been examined during the preparation of this catalogue. In many cases the condition is described, sometimes in considerable detail. If the condition is not described, the painting can be presumed to be in good condition.
PROVENANCE AND EXHIBITIONS There are separate headings for provenance and exhibitions in individual catalogue
entries. In certain cases, when nineteenth‐century paintings were included in dealers’
exhibitions for example, these two sections have been conflated
,
.
VAN GOGH The National Gallery’s four paintings by Van Gogh (Inv. nos. 3861, 3862, 3863 and 4169) are not catalogued in this volume but in The French School by Cecil Gould.
CORNELIUS JOHNSON The one painting (Inv. no. 6280) in the National Gallery by Johnson, who was born in London of Dutch parents but moved to the Netherlands after the outbreak of the Civil War, is not included in this catalogue but in The British School by Martin Davies.
Explanatory note
This volume contains the illustrations for the catalogue of the Dutch School published in Volume 1.
The pictures and their attributions are discussed in detail in the catalogue; in this volume only the title, the artist (or attribution) and the inventory number are given.
At the end of the volume are plates of all the signatures that could be reproduced. In the interest of clarity some of these have been enlarged.
About this version
Version 2, generated from files NM_CB_1991__16.xml dated 17/02/2025 and database__16.xml dated 16/02/2025 using stylesheet 16_teiToHtml_externalDb.xsl dated 03/01/2025. Entries for NG212, NG221, NG830, NG871, NG990, NG1674, NG1675, NG2531, NG4503, NG6350, NG6442, NG6444 and NG64835 proofread following mark-up and corrected.
Cite this entry
- Permalink (this version)
- https://data.ng.ac.uk/0DFA-000B-0000-0000
- Permalink (latest version)
- https://data.ng.ac.uk/0DCZ-000B-0000-0000
- Chicago style
- MacLaren, Neil and Christopher Brown. “990 An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church”. 1991, online version 2, February 17, 2025. https://data.ng.ac.uk/0DFA-000B-0000-0000.
- Harvard style
- MacLaren, Neil and Brown, Christopher (1991) 990 An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church. Online version 2, London: National Gallery, 2025. Available at: https://data.ng.ac.uk/0DFA-000B-0000-0000 (Accessed: 19 March 2025).
- MHRA style
- MacLaren, Neil and Christopher Brown, 990 An Extensive Landscape with a Ruined Castle and a Village Church (National Gallery, 1991; online version 2, 2025) <https://data.ng.ac.uk/0DFA-000B-0000-0000> [accessed: 19 March 2025]