Jacob van Ruisdael: Master of Landscape
26 June 2005 - 18 September 2005

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has organized an exhibition of the paintings of Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682), who created some of the most dramatic and bewitching landscapes in the history of art.. As a painter van Ruisdael may be compared to Rembrandt or Vermeer. He was one of the greatest masters of 17th century Dutch painting.

Forty-eight paintings by van Ruisdael are on display in the exhibition, which includes canvases from both private collections and from major art museums such as the State Hermitage in St Petersburg and the Painting Gallery of Old Masters or Municipal Collection of Art in Dresden.

Jacob Isaackszon van Ruisdael was a Dutch painter, master of etchings, and landscape artist in the national, realistic school. As an artist, van Ruisdael gave expression to the grandeur of nature and created landscapes that were full of drama and had epic breadth. In the exhibition the visitor will see urban, rural, river and sea views. There are dusky thickets near marshes and rivers running through forests, and there are also mountainous landscapes of Norway.

His precise drawings also are noted for conveying the sense of atmosphere. Like Rembrandt, he used contrasts of light and shadow as well as a limited palette in a monochrome range of color.
A philosopher artist, Ruysdael comprehended the essence of the laws of existence and created a new kind of philosophical landscape, opening the way for the late romantics.

The Marsh
1660s
Larger view

Mountainous Landscape
1670s
Larger view