Lot 62: Salomon van Ruysdael , Naarden 1600/3 - 1670 Haarlem River Landscape with Fishermen Casting Their Nets oil on canvas

signed lower left on the barge S. Ruysdael . 1641. oil on canvas

measurements note 25 by 40 3/4 in.; 63.5 by 103.2 cm.

The Holbech Family, Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire, probably acquired in the 19th century;
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, January 12, 1989, lot 53, where purchased by Richard Green for $517,000 ;
With Richard Green, London, by whom sold to a private collector, circa 1990.

Salomon van Ruysdael was one of the leading figures in landscape painting of the Dutch Golden Age. Like his contemporary Jan van Goyen, Ruysdael's style was influenced by Pieter Molyn and the tonal school of landscape painting. However, Ruysdael also invented his own distinct pictorial tools to create harmonious compositions that beautifully captured the landscape of his native country.

Ruysdael is perhaps best known for his atmospheric river scenes, such as the present example, that he began painting in the 1630s. The earliest of these are characterized by a monochromatic palette, but as he developed his own, more personal style, he began to use more varied colors. The present painting, signed and dated 1641, is typical of Ruysdael's work of the early 1640s. A soft, golden light sets the tone for the overall composition, but the artist introduces more color into the scene through his use of lovely blues and greens for the sky and water. Also in this landscape, the artist populates the left side of the composition with a tall and angular sailboat, ruins, figures, and barges, while the right side is dominated by an open expanse of water and sky, dotted with a sailboat and distant buildings. To increase a sense of depth in this composition, the artist (almost playfully) places a piece of driftwood and a barrel at angles in the forefront of the picture plane, which act as repoussoir devices.