Jacob van Ruisdael, A Waterfall at the Foot of a Hill, near a Village

The strong wind blowing towards us in this picture is almost tangible. Water roars and tumbles over bare rocks that jut up through the foam. The steep side of the hill falls on a diagonal across the space, lending the sensation that the earth might be sliding away. Clouds pile high and rush overhead, echoing the shape of the tossing trees below before they swirl and reform to make room for more, perhaps bringing gusts of rain. The herd of sheep looks small and vulnerable as it crosses a fragile-looking wooden bridge over a deep ravine, making for the shelter of the undergrowth on the hillside.

A hint of sun tries to warm the glinting rocks, but does little to soften the impact of the force of nature on the landscape. Only a distant mountain peak and the steeple pointing straight upwards to pierce the clouds give a little stability to the scene. It’s a view that, 100 years later, the Romantic poet Shelley might have had in mind when he wrote, ‘Oh wild West Wind, thou breath of autumn’s being...’.

Jacob van Ruisdael was one of the greatest of the Dutch landscape artists of the seventeenth century. In this painting he is at his most evocative and atmospheric. The change in his work from a more pastoral style to a highly dramatic interpretation of mountainous landscapes and threatening weather came about in the mid- to late seventeenth century, when he moved to Amsterdam from Haarlem and met Allart van Everdingen. Van Everdingen had been to Scandinavia and brought back drawings and sketches of the waterfalls and mountains he saw there – very different from the flat Dutch landscape. Van Ruisdael was immediately impressed by this fresh view of nature and began to produce pictures that were an imaginary version of this, to him, new terrain. Collectors shared his enthusiasm and he continued to be prolific and successful working in his new style.

About 100 years after van Ruisdael’s picture was painted, it appeared in Self Portrait with J.A. Brentano by the Dutch artist Adriaan de Lelie (private collection). The two men are seen in a picture gallery packed with paintings floor to ceiling. Brentano, the collector, looking young and enthusiastic, leans forward over a desk by the artist’s side holding a large manuscript, possibly a catalogue; van Ruisdael’s picture is placed in a prominent position directly above de Lelie’s head.