A Country Road

Salomon van Ruysdael

1648 · Oil on canvas · European Paintings

In this mature work Van Ruysdael seems to follow the advice given to painters by Karel van Mander in 1604: "But above all do not forget to put small figures under tall trees. . . Make the countryside, the town, and the water full of activity, the houses inhabited, and the roads traveled." The composition, with its curving forms focused on a low bridge and trees sweeping up to clouds, is typical of the late 1640s: similar designs were employed by the artist's famous nephew, Jacob van Ruisdael, and by other Haarlem landscapists such as Pieter Molijn.

Artist

Salomon van Ruysdael

Date

1648

Medium

Oil on canvas

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1906