Drawing the Eel
Salomon van Ruysdael·1650
Historical Context
Salomon van Ruysdael's Drawing the Eel from around 1650, at the Metropolitan Museum, depicts a popular Dutch rural pastime of eel fishing. Salomon, uncle of the more famous Jacob van Ruisdael, was a leading landscape painter of the previous generation whose tonal river landscapes established the conventions his nephew would dramatize. This late work shows the peaceful, muted palette and horizontal compositions that characterized Dutch landscape painting before the next generation introduced more dramatic effects.
Technical Analysis
The composition extends horizontally across a calm river scene rendered in a restricted tonal palette of grays, greens, and silvery blues. Salomon's atmospheric technique creates a unified misty effect that dissolves individual elements into a harmonious whole.
