Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael Art for Sale at Auction

Landscape painter, Etcher, b. 1628 - d. 1682

(born 1628; died 1682) Dutch landscape painter. Ruisdael was born in Haarlem, The Netherlands and was active in Haarlem and Amsterdam. He is often considered one of the greatest Dutch landscape artists. Ruisdael learned to paint at a young age from his father, who was a painter, art dealer and frame maker, and from his uncle, the painter Solomon van Ruysdael. His earliest work dates from 1646 and in 1648, Ruisdael became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem. Ruisdael traveled extensively in The Netherlands and studied painting in Germany, before settling back in Amsterdam around 1655 and establishing a studio complete with apprentices, which allowed him to produce a large body of work. Famous for his imposing landscapes, lighting and rendering of space, these characteristics distinguished him from his contemporaries. Ruisdael was able to inject seemingly quiet and mundane subjects such as trees, with emotion, tension and drama, causing contemplation in the viewer. Innovative not only in the eyes of his Dutch contemporaries, Ruisdael’s influence can also be seen throughout the following centuries in the works of Constable, Gainsborough, and in members of the Barbizon School. Ruisdael was also a doctor and died in Amsterdam in 1682, and is buried in Haarlem.