Winter Landscape, Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael, c. 1665
oil on canvas, h 42cm × w 49.7cm More details
Ruisdael painted around 25 winter landscapes. This scene is dominated by ominous dark clouds, and lit from the left by low, raking sunlight. The warmly dressed figures on the ice seem insignificant in the face of this inclement weather. A cheerful crowd of ice skaters would have been out of place in such a wintery landscape by Ruisdael.
