Painting by Jacob van Ruisdael. Wikimedia Commons.

Top 10 Facts about Jacob van Ruisdael


 

Jacob van Ruisdael is considered one of the most remarkable artists of the Golden Dutch era. He was born in 1628 in Harlem, Netherlands where he spent most of his childhood. He later settled in Amsterdam in 1655. Ruisdael was a painter, draughtsman, and etcher. He is famous for his breathtaking landscape styles, and his subjects of nature evolved throughout his painting career. Some include cottages, windmills, trees, and waterfalls. His use of heavy paint and fine detail added life and precision to his works, making them appear quite realistic. His surviving works can be found in several museums in Europe. Ruisdael was also a member of the Guild of St. Luke, a painter’s guild. Here are the top 10 facts about Ruisdael.

10 Most Famous Dutch Painters of all time.

He was born into a family of landscapists

Jacob van Ruisdael. Sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Ruisdael was born in Haarlem, in 1629. Most of his family members were painters, and interestingly, they specialized in landscapes. This fact has been one of the challenging reasons why it is difficult to account for his works. The spelling of the family name, Ruisdael, and the numerous relations were landscapists too sharing the same name, adds to the mystery, making it hard to attribute some of his works. 

 It is speculated that he studied painting under his father and uncle

While Ruisdael’s teacher remains undocumented, some scholars have indicated that it is highly likely that he studied under his father. Well, given that his family members were landscapists, it is not surprising that he would have learned the art from his father, Isaack van Ruisdael and his famous uncle, Salomon van Rusydael. The two painted landscapes.

He was greatly influenced by Cornelis Vroom and Allaert van Everdingen

Vroom the younger, Cornelis; A Landscape with a River by a Wood; The National Gallery, London. Wikimedia Commons.

Although his teachers are contested, it remains clear that Ruisdael’s works were greatly influenced by Cornelis Vroom and van Everdingen. Cornelis was a Dutch landscape painter, based in Haarlem, and a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke. Everdingen was a Dutch painter and printmaker in etching. His technique with landscapes and seascapes bore a significant influence on Ruisdael. He is considered the inventor of cascades, and his style was simple but skillful with the arrangement.

Meindert Hobbema was his only registered pupil

Hobbema, Meindert; The Ruins of Brederode Castle; The National Gallery, London. Wikimedia Commons.

He was a Dutch Golden Age painter as well, and he specialized in landscapes, particularly views of woodland. His later painting years showed a great resemblance to Ruisdael’s style, with forest scenes and water mills. His works have sometimes been confused with Ruisdael’s, showing the heavy influence of his teacher’s technique in his mature paintings. His most famous painting however is ‘ The Avenue at Middelharnis’, which is housed at National Gallery, London.

Top 10 Amazing facts about Meindert Hobbema.

One of his earliest works is dated 1646 at age 17

Dune Landscape by Jacob van Ruisdael. Wikimedia Commons.

The Dune Landscape is one of Ruisdael’s earliest works and is considered quite remarkable for a beginner artist at the time. It is an oil-on-panel painting and forms part of the art collection at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The piece depicts tree-covered dunes at center stage and a strongly illuminated sandy path. Hofstede de Groot, an art historian considers it ‘hardly credible that it should be the work of a boy of seventeen.’ Another early work dating 1647 is the ‘View of Naarden with the church at Muiderberg in the Distance’.

He was quite versatile, painting a wide range of landscape subjects

Jacob van Ruisdael-A watermill. Wikimedia Commons.

In his later painting years, Ruisdael painted mountain scenes, and the Mountainous and Wooded landscape with a river is one such painting. He also painted forests, country roads, dunes, dunes, Scandinavian waterfalls, town views, water mills, panoramas, windmills, and marines. One of his most famous works, Windmill at Wijk Bij Duurstede, depicts a riverside town with a massive cylindrical windmill. Panoramic views of Haarlem’s skyline feature among his best work as well.

Ruisdael’s works are displayed in various museums across the world

Wooded landscape by Jacob van Ruisdael-Fogg museum. Wikimedia Commons.

Being a pre-eminent landscapist of his era, his works were in considerable demand in the Dutch Republic. Centuries later, they have reached several museums around the world, and are still appreciated by art lovers. These museums include the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the National Gallery in London, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The three hold the largest collections of his works.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York houses five of his works, and the British Museum holds two of his print etchings.

Top 10 Astonishing Facts about the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

It is contested that he was a doctor too

This speculated claim is based on 17th-century archival records depicting the name ‘Jacobus Ruijsdael’ in a list of doctors in Amsterdam at the time. The records indicate that he earned his degree in Caen, France in 1676. However, with the lack of any evidence that he traveled to France, and the little time he would have had to complete the degree, it has been contested by some historians that this is a case of mistaken identity. Pieter Scheltema, a historian opines that it could have been Ruisdael’s cousin who appeared on record.

Many artists were influenced by his styles

Jacob van Ruisdael- View of bleaching fields near Haarlem. Wikimedia Commons.

Ruisdael influenced not only Dutch landscape painters, but also English artists such as J.M.W Turner, Thomas Gainsborough, and John Constable. Turner copied several paintings of Ruisdael, and also painted an imaginary ‘Port Ruysdael’ in his admiration for the painter. Constable was a great admirer of Ruisdael from a young age, and he, later on, made copies of his drawings and paintings as well. 

10 of the Most Famous Fake Paintings in Art History.

Several exhibitions have been held for his works

The Art Treasures of Great Britain, held in Manchester in 1987 is the largest to have been held in the United Kingdom. Most of Ruisdael’s works were on display at the exhibition. However, the first exhibition to be held solely for his works was in 1981, and over fifty paintings were on display at the Mauritshuis in the Hague. Another one was held in 1982 at the Fogg Museum in Cambridge. The Royal Academy in London held a Ruisdael ‘Master of Landscape’ exhibition in 2006, showcasing over fifty collections.