A Norwegian Waterfall
Jacob van Ruisdael·1660
Historical Context
A Norwegian Waterfall from around 1660 shows Ruisdael imagining the dramatic cascades of Scandinavia. Though he never traveled to Norway, he created convincing northern landscapes from the works of Allart van Everdingen and his own powerful imagination. Working from prints by Allart van Everdingen who had visited Scandinavia, Ruisdael constructed convincing cascades using fluid, energetic paint handling for the white water and dense impasto for mossy rocks. These proto-Romantic subjects prefi...
Technical Analysis
The powerful cascade dominates the composition with dramatic white water against dark rocks. Ruisdael's rendering of the waterfall's force and the surrounding misty atmosphere creates a compelling vision of northern nature.
