Waterfall

This Waterfall from around 1660 at a National Trust property shows Ruisdael's imaginary cascade scenes that brought dramatic natural energy to Dutch painting. These powerful waterfalls anticipate the Romantic movement's celebration of sublime nature by over a century. 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...

The falling water dominates the composition with dynamic energy. Ruisdael's rendering of white foam against dark rocks creates dramatic tonal contrast and a sense of natural power.