Cornelis Decker, A Cottage among Trees on the Bank of a Stream

Cornelis Decker is a little-known Dutch landscape painter who lived and worked in Haarlem, often painting in the manner of Jacob van Ruisdael – as he does in this picture. It shows the view of a hilly landscape with trees tossing in the wind and a stream running through rocky terrain. On the hillside is a thatched cottage with a dovecote perched on top and a little family gathered at the door. Further down the slope, a horseman splashing through the water pauses to speak to a man with a dog. A second man runs ahead encouraging his hounds onward with a waving arm.

But Decker’s work lacks the precision and drama of van Ruisdael’s. There is little sense of movement, especially in the sky; the multiple shades of green that Ruisdael achieves are missing; and the rocks in the background have no real substance. For a comparison, look at van Ruisdael’s A Waterfall in a Rocky Landscape or A Landscape with a Waterfall and a Castle on a Hill.