Rocky Landscape with Waterfall

This 1653 Rocky Landscape with Waterfall is among Ruisdael's imaginary Nordic or Scandinavian landscapes — scenes he invented from imagination and from study of other artists' northern landscapes rather than from direct observation, since he is not known to have travelled to Scandinavia. By the 1650s such dramatic, rocky waterfall landscapes had become a distinct market category for Dutch collectors who appreciated their contrast with the flat Dutch terrain. Ruisdael used these invented compositions to explore notions of natural sublime decades before the concept was theorised. The painting is characteristic of his sustained fascination with the visual drama of falling water.

A rushing cascade descends through the rocky centre of the composition, framed by dark cliffs and windswept trees. Ruisdael renders the water's white foam with broken, energetic strokes distinct from the broader handling of the rock surfaces. A warm brown underlayer shows through in shadowed areas.