Hilly Landscape
Jacob van Ruisdael·1652
Historical Context
Van Ruisdael's hilly landscape subjects were imaginary compositions drawing on his travel to the border regions between the Netherlands and Germany around 1650, where terrain becomes markedly more elevated than the flat Dutch interior. This painting of 1652 belongs to the period immediately after those travels, when the memory of hills, elevated viewpoints, and wooded slopes was fresh. The hilly landscape allowed Van Ruisdael to introduce compositional verticals and diagonal recession that the flat Dutch polder panorama denied.
Technical Analysis
A pronounced diagonal from foreground slope to distant valley provides compositional structure. Van Ruisdael renders the varied foliage with attention to the different textures of oak, birch, and other species. The sky above the hills is active and partially stormy, contributing to the elevated emotional register of the scene.
