Ruisdael, View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds
Summary
TLDRIn the Mauritshuis, The Hague, we explore Jacob van Ruisdael's renowned landscape of Haarlem, featuring the iconic Saint Bavo church. This 17th-century Dutch masterpiece is a 'skyscape' with clouds dominating the scene, reflecting the artist's love for the city. The painting's dynamic use of light and shadow guides the viewer's gaze through the landscape, while the artist's perspective, likely from a dune, captures the flat Dutch terrain. The canvas, with 70% dedicated to the sky, conveys a sense of weather and time, setting it apart from the idealized landscapes of its era.
Takeaways
- ποΈ The painting is a landscape of Haarlem by Jacob van Ruisdael, housed in the Mauritshuis in the Hague, Netherlands.
- π The church of Saint Bavo is the recognizable feature that identifies Haarlem in the painting.
- βοΈ The painting is dominated by clouds, suggesting a 'skyscape' rather than a traditional landscape.
- πΌοΈ The work is a portrait of the city, reflecting the artist's love and attachment to the place.
- π¨βπ¨ The landscape is a new type of painting in 17th-century Holland, focusing on a specific location rather than being subsidiary to other subjects.
- ποΈπ‘ The painting may have been commissioned by the owner of linen works depicted in the foreground, which are fields for bleaching linen.
- π Ruisdael uses light and shadow effectively to draw the viewer's eye into the depth of the landscape.
- π The alternating planes of light and dark guide the viewer's eye through the painting, creating a sense of movement and depth.
- ποΈ The artist likely painted from an elevated perspective, possibly a dune, as suggested by the sand in the foreground.
- π¨ The painting was likely constructed in the studio, despite the tradition of artists sketching outside.
- βοΈπ¬οΈ Seventy percent of the canvas is dedicated to the sky, capturing the dynamic movement and weather of the time.
Q & A
In which museum is the painting by Jacob van Ruisdael discussed in the script located?
-The painting is located in the Mauritshuis in the Hague, Netherlands.
What is the subject of the painting by Jacob van Ruisdael mentioned in the script?
-The painting is a landscape of the city of Haarlem.
What feature of the landscape in the painting helps to identify the city of Haarlem?
-The church of Saint Bavo, which rises above the skyline, helps to identify the city of Haarlem.
How does the script describe the type of landscape painting by van Ruisdael?
-The script describes it as a new type of painting in the 17th century in Holland, focusing on a specific place and being a portrait of a city.
What role does the artist's feeling and attachment play in the painting according to the script?
-The artist's feeling and attachment are built into the portrait of the place, suggesting a personal connection to the landscape.
What is suggested about the possible commissioning of the painting in the script?
-It is suggested that the painting may have been commissioned by the owner of the linen works visible in the foreground.
How does Jacob van Ruisdael use light and shadow in the painting?
-Van Ruisdael effectively uses alternating planes of light and dark to draw the viewer's eye into the depth of the landscape.
What geographical feature might the artist be standing on to achieve the perspective in the painting?
-The artist is likely standing on a dune, as indicated by the sand in the foreground, to achieve the elevated perspective.
What percentage of the canvas is dedicated to the sky in the painting?
-Seventy percent of the canvas is given over to the sky.
How does the painting reflect the Baroque style of the 17th century?
-The painting reflects the Baroque style through the dynamism within the static landscape, showing a sense of weather, time, and specificity.
What is unique about the landscape painting by van Ruisdael compared to Italian and French paintings of the time?
-Unlike the idealized, classicizing landscapes of Italian and French painters, van Ruisdael's painting has a sense of weather, time, and specificity, capturing a real and dynamic scene.
Outlines
πΌοΈ Landscape of Haarlem by Jacob van Ruisdael
The script introduces a painting by Jacob van Ruisdael located in the Mauritshuis in the Hague, Netherlands. The painting is a landscape of Haarlem, identifiable by the church of Saint Bavo. The majority of the artwork is dominated by clouds, representing a new genre of landscape painting in 17th-century Holland. The painting is described as a 'skyscape' and a 'portrait of a city,' reflecting the artist's love and attachment to the place. It is suggested that the painting might have been commissioned by a linen works owner, as the fields in the foreground are actually linen bleaching fields. The artist's use of light and shadow guides the viewer's eye through the landscape, creating a sense of depth. The flatness of the Dutch landscape is countered by the artist's vantage point on a dune, which provides elevation for the perspective. The painting is a contrast to the idealized landscapes of the time, offering a sense of weather, time, and specificity that makes the scene enduring.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Mauritshuis
π‘Jacob van Ruisdael
π‘Haarlem
π‘Landscape Painting
π‘Skyscape
π‘Light and Shadow
π‘Dutch Golden Age
π‘Baroque
π‘Perspective
π‘Weather and Time
π‘Studio Construction
Highlights
The painting is by Jacob van Ruisdael, located in the Mauritshuis in the Hague, Netherlands.
It features a landscape of Haarlem, recognizable by the church of Saint Bavo.
The painting is dominated by clouds, representing a new type of landscape painting in 17th century Holland.
The landscape is a portrait of the city, reflecting the artist's love and attachment to Haarlem.
The painting may have been commissioned by the owner of linen works shown in the foreground.
The linen works in the foreground indicate a partly cloudy day with sun partially bleaching the linen.
Ruisdael uses light and shadow effectively to draw the viewer's eye into the depth of the landscape.
Alternating planes of light and dark guide the viewer's eye through the painting.
The artist likely painted from an elevated perspective, possibly a dune, as indicated by the sand in the foreground.
The painting was likely constructed in the studio, despite the outdoor scene.
70 percent of the canvas is dedicated to the sky, emphasizing the dynamic clouds.
The painting captures a specific landscape with a sense of weather and time.
The Dutch landscape contrasts with the idealized, classicizing landscapes of Italian and French painters of the time.
The painting embodies the Baroque style of the 17th century, with a dynamism within the static landscape.
The painting reflects an interest in things in process, a hallmark of the historical moment.
The landscape painting by Ruisdael is enduring, capturing the essence of Haarlem despite the passage of time.
Transcripts
(piano music)
- We're in the Mauritshuis in the Hague in the Netherlands,
and we're looking at probably the most famous painting
by Jacob van Ruisdael.
This is a landscape of the city of Haarlem.
- And it's recognizably Haarlem,
because of the church of Saint Bavo,
that rises above the skyline.
But most of the painting is cloud.
It is a landscape.
A new type of painting in the 17th century, in Holland.
In a way I wish this was called a skyscape.
- There is a long tradition of landscape,
and you can find some landscape from the ancient world.
You can find some early examples in the renaissance,
but their almost always subsidiary to something else.
Here we have a landscape that is very much about this place.
It is a portrait of a city.
- A portrait of someone's love of a city.
Built into these portraits of a place
is the artists feeling and attachment.
We have Vermeer painting Delft,
where he lived most of his life.
We have van Ruisdael painting Haarlem, where he lived.
- At least one artist has suggested
that this may have been commissioned by the person
who owned linen works that we see in the foreground.
If you look closely those are not the fields of a farm in the foreground,
but rather they're broad areas where linen is laid out,
so that the sun can bleach it.
This is a partly cloudy day,
and the sun is only partially reaching that.
In fact Ruisdael has effectively used both light and shadow
to draw our eye back into the depth of the landscape.
- There are alternating planes of light and dark.
We start in the very foreground in shadow.
We move to those bleaching fields return the sunlight.
Then another area of shadow,
and then another area of sunshine where we see an open field.
And then shade, and then light,
and then the church in the distance.
This helps our eye to move into space,
and to travel through the landscape.
- And to do it slowly,
and to lead our eye lovingly through the space.
Now Holland is a very flat country,
so one might wonder where the artist is standing,
to have this great perspective.
If you look carefully at the very foreground
between the grasses you can just make out that that's sand.
and this is likely a dune,
that is giving him this kind of elevation.
- Well, he's probably sketched outside.
We're so used to thinking about artist painting outside
with tubes of paint,
but this was likely constructed in the studio.
- 70 percent of this canvas is given over to the sky.
To these beautiful billowing clouds,
and the sense that everything is in motion.
- Right, and it's a very specific landscape.
In Italy at this time the Italian painters are,
and French painters too,
are painting idealized, classicizing landscapes.
Where it's always perfectly sunny.
It's always the spring.
Here we have a sense of weather, time, specificity
that makes this town enduring.
Even as time passes, even as those clouds go by.
Even as the gap of light changes on the landscape.
- That change is such a hallmark of this historical moment.
Stylistically we call the Baroque, the 17th century.
Where a kind of dynamism within the static landscape
is brought to the foreground.
- That's right, even within portraits we get a sense
of the dynamic of movement.
Even in genre scenes.
There's this interest in things that are in process.
We certainly have that here,
in this beautiful landscape by Ruisdael.
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