Jacob Van Ruisdael
The Forest Scene is one of Ruisdael’s tributes to nature along with symbolic allegories about human disposition towards life. Its significance lies on the fact that the artist incorporated a romantic and atmospheric sense rather than realistically depict a momentum in the Dutch countryside. It is oil on canvas and the dimensions are 105.5 x 123.4cm. The artist is Jacob van Ruisdael (c. 1628-1682). This painting is exhibited since 1942 in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., currently at Gallery 49 on the Main Floor of the West Building.
Jacob van Ruisdael was the son and nephew of painters and he received his formal training in Germany after passing through different cities in Holland, while settling down in Amsterdam during 1656. He was much influenced by the surroundings of his trips and mainly depicted the German or Dutch countryside in his paintings (144). Holland was completely different than seventeenth-century Italy where patronage was lavished on cabinet pictures which were sold at fairs or even bakeries. In Holland, …show more content…
Compared to the first period when landscapes were more realistic representations of the Nordic nature, the second phase presents more dramatic results based on the psychological disposition of the viewer. He plays with the contradiction between life and decay in his painting (92). The painting combines an unfriendly, infertile ground with birch and oak trees and wild viburnum. The flowing crystal water, a symbol of life, is paired with a naked branch of a birch tree which slowly falls inside. Finally, the stillness of the image is broken by the existence of the couple and the flock of sheep who wonder around the countryside. The painting has a descriptive character, which exists in his work. This painting also negotiates allegorically to the transience of life, man’s short-term expectations, and the hope for
Jacob van Ruisdael was the son and nephew of painters and he received his formal training in Germany after passing through different cities in Holland, while settling down in Amsterdam during 1656. He was much influenced by the surroundings of his trips and mainly depicted the German or Dutch countryside in his paintings (144). Holland was completely different than seventeenth-century Italy where patronage was lavished on cabinet pictures which were sold at fairs or even bakeries. In Holland, …show more content…
Compared to the first period when landscapes were more realistic representations of the Nordic nature, the second phase presents more dramatic results based on the psychological disposition of the viewer. He plays with the contradiction between life and decay in his painting (92). The painting combines an unfriendly, infertile ground with birch and oak trees and wild viburnum. The flowing crystal water, a symbol of life, is paired with a naked branch of a birch tree which slowly falls inside. Finally, the stillness of the image is broken by the existence of the couple and the flock of sheep who wonder around the countryside. The painting has a descriptive character, which exists in his work. This painting also negotiates allegorically to the transience of life, man’s short-term expectations, and the hope for