Jacob van Ruisdael Painting Reproductions 1 of 6

c.1628-1682

Dutch Baroque Painter

Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael (or Ruysdael) (c. 1628 - 14 March 1682) was a Dutch landscape painter.

A native of Haarlem, he appears to have studied under his father Isaak van Ruysdael, a landscape painter, though other authorities place him as the pupil of Berghem and of Allart van Everdingen. He was the nephew of Salomon van Ruysdael, a landscape artist of some note, and studied under him as well. The earliest date that appears on his paintings and etchings is 1645. Three years later he was admitted as a member of the guild of St Luke in Haarlem; in 1659 he obtained the freedom of the city of Amsterdam, and in 1668 his name appears there as a witness to the marriage of Meindert Hobbema. During his lifetime, his works were little appreciated, and he seems to have suffered from poverty. In 1681 the sect of the Mennonites, with whom he was connected, petitioned the council of Haarlem for his admission into the almshouse of the town, and there the artist died on the 14th of March 1682.

Ruisdael's favorite subjects are simple woodland scenes, similar to those of Everdingen and Hobbema. He is especially noted as a painter of trees, and his rendering of foliage, particularly of oak leaf age, is characterized by the greatest spirit and precision. His views of distant cities, such as that of Haarlem in the possession of the marquess of Bute, and that of Katwijk in the Glasgow Corporation Galleries, clearly indicate the influence of Rembrandt.

He frequently painted coast-scenes and sea-pieces, but it is in his rendering of lonely forest glades that we find him at his best. The subjects of certain of his mountain scenes seem to be taken from Norway, and have led to the supposition that he had traveled in that country. There is, however, no record of such a journey, and the works in question are probably merely adaptations from the landscapes of Van Everdingen, whose manner he copied at one period. Only a single architectural subject from his brush is known an admirable interior of the New Church, Amsterdam. The prevailing hue of his landscapes is a full rich green, which, however, has darkened with time, while a clear grey tone is characteristic of his seapieces. The art of Ruisdael, while it shows little of the scientific knowledge of later landscapists, is sensitive and poetic in sentiment, and direct and skillful in technique. Figures are sparingly introduced into his compositions, and such as occur are believed to be from the pencils of Adriaen van de Velde, Philip Wouwerman, and Jan Lingelbach.

Unlike the other great Dutch landscape painters, Ruisdael did not aim at a pictorial record of particular scenes, but he carefully thought out and arranged his compositions, introducing into them an infinite variety of subtle contrasts in the formation of the clouds, the plants and tree forms, and the play of light. He particularly excelled in the painting of cloudscapes which are spanned dome-like over the landscape, and determine the light and shade of the objects.

Goethe lauded him as a poet among painters, and his work shows some of the sensibilities the Romantics would later celebrate.

Characteristic of his early period, from about 1646 to 1655, is the choice of very simple motifs and the careful and laborious study of the details of nature. The time between his departure from Haarlem and his settling in Amsterdam may have been spent in travelling and helped him to gain a broader view of nature and to widen the horizon of his art.

A magnificent view of the Castle of Bentheim (which is located in Bad Bentheim in Lower-Saxony), dated 1654, suggests that his wanderings extended to Germany. In his last period, from about 1675 onwards, he shows a tendency towards overcrowded compositions, and affects a darker tonality, which may partly be due to the use of thin paint on a dark ground. Towards the end, in his leaning towards the romantic mood, he preferred to draw his inspiration from other masters, instead of going to nature direct, his favorite subjects being rushing torrents and waterfalls, and ruined castles on mountain crests, which are frequently borrowed from the Swiss views by Roghmau.

Ruisdael etched a few plates, thirteen according to the latest catalogue raisonne by Slive, which he evidently regarded as experimental and somewhat private, to judge by their extreme rarity - about half survive in only a single impression (copy). By far the best collection is at the Rijksmuseum print room in Amsterdam. Many have very crowded compositions of foliage. The Cornfield and the Travellers are characterized by Duplessis as prints of a high order which may be regarded as the most significant expressions of landscape art in the Low Countries.

129 Ruisdael Paintings

The Bush, 1856 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Bush 1856

Oil Painting
$1500
Canvas Print
$64.21
SKU: RJV-13388
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 68 x 82 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Forest Wood, n.d. by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Forest Wood n.d.

Oil Painting
$1478
Canvas Print
$84.41
SKU: RJV-13423
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 55 x 61 cm
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

The Big Forest, c.1655/60 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Big Forest c.1655/60

Oil Painting
$1574
Canvas Print
$58.68
SKU: RJV-13424
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 139 x 180 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

The Storm, n.d. by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Storm n.d.

Oil Painting
$1531
Canvas Print
$53.97
SKU: RJV-13425
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 110 x 160 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Landscape with Mountain River, c.1670/80 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with Mountain River c.1670/80

Oil Painting
$1344
Canvas Print
$86.35
SKU: RJV-13426
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 52 x 66 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

The Sunbeam, n.d. by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Sunbeam n.d.

Oil Painting
$1476
Canvas Print
$62.27
SKU: RJV-13427
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 83 x 99 cm
Louvre Museum, Paris, France

Mountain Landscape with Waterfall, c.1670/80 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Mountain Landscape with Waterfall c.1670/80

Oil Painting
$1385
Canvas Print
$71.55
SKU: RJV-13428
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 62.5 x 45.5 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Wheat Fields, c.1670 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Wheat Fields c.1670

Oil Painting
$1483
Canvas Print
$58.26
SKU: RJV-13429
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 100 x 130.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Landscape with a Village in the Distance, 1646 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with a Village in the Distance 1646

Oil Painting
$1534
Canvas Print
$52.59
SKU: RJV-13430
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 76.2 x 109.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Forest Stream, c.1660 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Forest Stream c.1660

Oil Painting
$1637
Canvas Print
$57.71
SKU: RJV-13431
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 99.7 x 129.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Grainfields, c.1665/70 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Grainfields c.1665/70

Oil Painting
$1270
Canvas Print
$67.64
SKU: RJV-13432
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 47 x 57.2 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Mountain Torrent, c.1670/80 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Mountain Torrent c.1670/80

Oil Painting
$1270
Canvas Print
$56.93
SKU: RJV-13433
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 54 x 41.9 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

Dune Landscape with Oak Tree, c.1650/55 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Dune Landscape with Oak Tree c.1650/55

Paper Art Print
$47.83
SKU: RJV-13434
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 21 x 19.1 cm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA

The Jewish Cemetery near Oudekerk, c.1653/55 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Jewish Cemetery near Oudekerk c.1653/55

Oil Painting
$1685
Canvas Print
$66.97
SKU: RJV-13435
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 84 x 95 cm
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany

Bentheim Castle, 1653 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Bentheim Castle 1653

Oil Painting
$1500
Canvas Print
$92.39
SKU: RJV-13436
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 68 x 54 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Harbour with Sailing Boats and Market Stalls, c.1660 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Harbour with Sailing Boats and Market Stalls c.1660

Oil Painting
$1739
Canvas Print
$61.03
SKU: RJV-13437
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: unknown
Private Collection

River Landscape and Entrance to a Cellar, 1649 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

River Landscape and Entrance to a Cellar 1649

Oil Painting
$1661
Canvas Print
$57.85
SKU: RJV-13438
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 69.8 x 92 cm
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

The Hunt, c.1665/70 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

The Hunt c.1665/70

Oil Painting
$1823
Canvas Print
$56.32
SKU: RJV-13439
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 107 x 147 cm
Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany

Landscape, 1650 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Landscape 1650

Oil Painting
$1397
Canvas Print
$76.11
SKU: RJV-13440
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 61 x 61 cm
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain

Landscape with Shepherds and Peasants (After the Storm), c.1660/70 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with Shepherds and Peasants (After the Storm) c.1660/70

Oil Painting
$1634
Canvas Print
$65.32
SKU: RJV-13441
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 52 x 60.5 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence, Italy

Landscape, c.1670 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Landscape c.1670

Oil Painting
$1502
Canvas Print
$80.32
SKU: RJV-13442
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 53.2 x 60 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington, USA

Westphalian Landscape, c.1660 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Westphalian Landscape c.1660

Oil Painting
$1682
Canvas Print
$66.01
SKU: RJV-13443
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 99.8 x 86.8 cm
Allentown Art Museum, Pennsylvania, USA

Hills and Woods, c.1660/70 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Hills and Woods c.1660/70

Oil Painting
$1457
Canvas Print
$66.29
SKU: RJV-13444
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 51.6 x 59.4 cm
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, USA

Landscape with a Dead Tree, c.1660/70 by Ruisdael | Painting Reproduction

Landscape with a Dead Tree c.1660/70

Oil Painting
$1670
Canvas Print
$57.15
SKU: RJV-13445
Jacob van Ruisdael
Original Size: 99.2 x 131 cm
Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, USA

Top