Wooded and Hilly Landscape

1660s

Jacob van Ruisdael

(Dutch, 1628/29–1682)

Culture

Netherlands

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

Framed: 73 x 81.5 x 11 cm (28 3/4 x 32 1/16 x 4 5/16 in.); Unframed: 51.6 x 59.4 cm (20 5/16 x 23 3/8 in.)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1963.575

You can copy, modify, and distribute this work, all without asking permission. Learn more about CMA's Open Access Initiative.

Location

Not on view

Description

Jacob van Ruisdael, one of the most eminent Dutch landscape painters, is revered for his brooding woodland compositions. With much of this painting's composition dedicated to nature alone, an underlying sense of sublimity is heightened by Ruisdael through the inclusion of several diminutive figures. A mother and child trudge through a weathered path in the foreground, their pet dog following closely at their side, while a lone traveler approaches from the foliage ahead of them. This work is an excellent representation of the artist's later period, speaking to both his preoccupation with meticulous detail and the transitory relationship between humans and nature.