Wooded Landscape with a Waterfall
Order image © All images subject to copyright
Large oil painting of a landscape with a waterfall and a river. A small waterfall appears on the left of the painting; its basin stretches across the foreground. To either side are rocky banks and trees. On the right, there are two dead silver birch trees; one has fallen into the river. The backs of two small figures are visible in the centre mid-ground. In the distance, there are fields and hills. A shepherd with sheep and a cow appears in the centre background.
Jacob van Ruisdael painted waterfalls throughout his career. This composition was known as the 'Fishermen' when in the collection of Baron James de Rothschild as it used to have figures. Conservation carried out in the early 1990s found that they were in fact painted over the original varnish and they were removed, leaving only the wild splendour of the landscape.
Ruisdael is well-known for his monumental landscapes with symbolic overtones. The dead tree that has fallen into the river suggests themes of the power and cruelty of Nature. Ruisdael lived in Haarlem and Amsterdam where he came to know the paintings of Caesar van Everdingen who had travelled in Scandinavia and specialised in scenes of rocky waterfalls. The figures were not part of the original painting and were probably added to counteract the wildness of the scene. Without them, the full grandeur of the severe landscape is now visible.
The dramatic enviroment painted by Ruisdael anticipates the interest in the sublime in the 18th century. Without the foreground fishermen there seems to be no comforting narrative, only the wildness of the rushing river and surrounding forest that provide a thrill of danger. However, there is a shepherd in the background. This detail suggests that man can live in harmony with the landscape - even one seen to be decaying and destructive. In this respect, the painting is also related to 17th-century bucolic scenes of country life.
Phillippa Plock, 2011
Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)
895 x 1035
Signature & date
signed, lower left on bank: J. V. R[ail...]
Inscriptions
845 D
Inscription
upright stretcher, ink
Provenance
- Owned by Samuel Athanes in 1797; possibly owned by Henry, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (b.1784, d.1865) in 1828; acquired by Colonel Hugh Duncan Baillie (b.1777, d.1866) before 1835; bought by John Smith (b.1781, d.1855) for S. [probably Johann] M. Oppenheim at Colonel Hugh Baillie sale, London, Christie's, 15 May 1858, no. 33 for £1120; acquired by Johann Moritz Oppenheim (d. 1864) before 1864; bought by Webb at Johann Moritz Oppenheim sale, London, Christie's, 4 June 1864, lot no. 29 for £1522.10s; acquired by Baron James de Rothschild (b.1792, d.1868) before 1868; by descent to his son Baron Edmond de Rothschild (b.1845, d.1934) when it was known as 'Paysage Boisé (Les Pecheurs)'; by descent to his son James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); accepted by The Treasury Solicitor in lieu of taxes on the Estate of Mr James de Rothschild in 1963; given to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1990.
Exhibition history
- Possibly British Institution Exhibition, London, 1828, no. 154, lent by Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston
Collection
- Waddesdon (National Trust)
- Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990
Bibliography
- John Smith; A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish and French Painters; 9 vols; London; Smith and Son; 1829-1842; vol. 6, p. 53, no. 170; figs. by Wouwerman, in collection of Colonel Hugh Baillie
- Emile Michel; Ruysdael et les paysagistes de l'école de Haarlem; Paris; Librairie de l'art; 1890; p. 81; when in Baron Edmond's collection
- Cornelis Hofstede de Groot; A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. Vols 5-8 [1907-1927]; Bishops Stortford; Chadwick Healey; 1976; vol. 4, no. 571 and 273
- Jakob Rosenberg; Jacob van Ruisdael; Berlin; B Cassirer; 1928; no. 229
- Ellis Waterhouse, Anthony Blunt; Paintings: The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Fribourg; Office du Livre, The National Trust; 1967; pp. 162-163, cat. no. 68; as 'A wooded landscape with a waterfall and fisherfolk'
- Seymour Slive; Jacob van Ruisdael: A complete catalogue of his paintings, drawings and etchings; New Haven; Yale University Press; 2001; p. 242, no. 293; as 'Hilly Wooded Landscape with a Waterfall', dated c. 1600-1665
Subjects
- Nature, Landscape & The Elements/Countryside
- Nature, Landscape & The Elements/Trees & Plants
- Nature, Landscape & The Elements/Trees & Plants/Pine or Pinecone
- Nature, Landscape & The Elements/Trees & Plants/Silver Birch Tree
- Nature, Landscape & The Elements/Clouds
- Allegory & Personifications/Water