Landscape with waterfall and wooden footbridge
Jacob van Ruisdael·1660
Historical Context
Landscape with Waterfall and Wooden Footbridge from around 1660 combines the cascade with a rustic crossing point. The footbridge adds a human element suggesting travel and connection within the dramatic natural landscape. 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 prefigure the Sublime landscapes of ...
Technical Analysis
The wooden footbridge spans near the cascade, its rustic construction contrasting with the water's energy. Ruisdael's atmospheric handling unifies the natural and constructed elements.
