Jacob Salomonsz. van Ruysdael, 'A Waterfall by a Cottage in a Hilly Landscape', about 1650-81
About the work
Overview
Under a stormy sky, cattle are herded across a frail-looking bridge, the fast water threatening to destroy the trestles that hold it up. The river swings round to the left and tumbles away in a mist of foam down the hill between jagged rocks. Norwegian pine trees pierce the clouds and the branches of a birch toss in the wind. Between them a view of purple hills stretches away in the distance.
The painting was once thought to have been by Jacob van Ruisdael, the leading Dutch landscape artist of the seventeenth century; it has since been attributed to his cousin, Jacob Salomonsz. Ruysdael, who imitated his style. Perhaps the slightly awkward placing of the mountain high above the trees on the right is a clue that the picture isn't likely to be by van Ruisdael, but the movement of the torrent and the atmospheric lighting still make a dramatic scene.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- A Waterfall by a Cottage in a Hilly Landscape
- Artist dates
- 1629/30 - 1681
- Date made
- about 1650-81
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 103.5 × 86.9 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed
- Acquisition credit
- Bought, 1859
- Inventory number
- NG628
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
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
-
1960Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
-
1991Maclaren, 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
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