JACOB VAN RUISDAEL (HAARLEM 1628-1682 AMSTERDAM)

Jacob van Ruisdael’s winter landscapes occupy a distinctive position in his oeuvre. With only around thirty such paintings known, they are also among the rarest of all his subjects. Though none of Ruisdael’s winter landscapes is dated, it is generally believed he only began to paint such scenes following his move to Amsterdam in 1655. The thriving metropolis, which must have presented a sharp contrast to the long-term industrial decline of his native Haarlem, unleashed a wellspring of creativity in the young artist that saw him expand his repertoire of landscape genres and motifs. Each of Ruisdael’s winter landscapes appears to have been conceived as a stand-alone image rather than forming part of a series of the Four Seasons or the Twelve Months.

Ruisdael’s winter landscapes tend to favour small, vertically oriented canvases. Their small-scale format imbued these works with a degree of intimacy that sets them apart from much of Ruisdael’s production. The present painting plausibly dates to the 1660s on account of the striking contrast between the bright white snow and the ominous, cloud-filled sky as well as the painting’s open, atmospheric spatial effects, both seemingly hallmarks of his approach to winter landscapes in the period.