Biography

Ruisdael was one of the most remarkable and influential landscape painters in seventeenth-century Holland. He extended the scope of contemporary landscape themes to include wooded scenes, rivers and waterfalls, as well as beach and dune scenes, seacapes and panoramic vistas. Obviously based on a close study of nature, Ruisdael’s paintings always appear believable and natural in their composition, treatment of light and lifelike colouring. They frequently show typically Dutch scenes, thereby celebrating the richness of landscapes in Holland. Ruisdael’s work influenced eighteenth and nineteenth century landscape painting in Britain. Admiration for his paintings, prints and drawings inspired landscape studies by Gainsborough, Wilson, Constable and Turner.