Follower of Jacob van Ruisdael, 'The Skirts of a Forest', probably 1650-1700

The Skirts of a Forest

Follower of Jacob van Ruisdael

Not on display

About the work

Overview

This painting is a copy of Jacob van Ruisdael’s original, which is in a private collection in Canada. Made by an unknown follower, it shares the original’s sense of space and airiness, with a wide view past the dense trees and bushes on the left.

Crossing the barrier of dead tree trunks across the pond and out between the distant trees, we reach the sky and the clouds that van Ruisdael loved to paint. Close to us they are streaky and grey, but then puff up to tower overhead. The sun striking them makes them glow, their shapes echoed by the tops of the trees below.

In-depth

Crossing the barrier of dead tree trunks across the pond and out between the distant trees, we reach the sky and clouds that van Ruisdael loved to paint. Close to us they are streaky and grey, but then puff up to tower overhead. The sun striking them makes them glow, their shapes echoed by the tops of the trees below.

There are examples of van Ruisdael’s dramatic landscapes in the National Gallery’s collection, like A Landscape with a Ruined Building and A Waterfall in a Rocky Landscape.

Key facts

Details

Full title: The Skirts of a Forest
Artist: Follower of Jacob van Ruisdael
Artist dates: 1628/9? - 1682
Date made: probably 1650-1700
Medium and support: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 57.5 × 70.5 cm
Acquisition credit: Salting Bequest, 1910
Inventory number: NG2566
Location: Not on display
Collection: Main Collection
Previous owners: George Salting

Provenance

Possibly in the collection of the 3rd Duke of Dorset (d. 1799) in (?)1770; said to have been in Lord de La Warr’s collection. In the collection of George Salting, London; Salting Bequest, 1910.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Bibliography

1907

C. Hofstede de Groot, Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 10 vols, London 1907
1960

Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
1991

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

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You've viewed 6 of 21 works

Follower of Jacob van Ruisdael, 'The Skirts of a Forest', probably 1650-1700

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Bibliography

About this record

Images

Related works