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A Landscape with a Waterfall and a Castle on a Hill

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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Heavy, rain-dark clouds loom over a rugged landscape of scrubby trees, crags and three pines dramatically silhouetted against the sky. Right in the centre of the picture, a river emerges black and mirror-like from a fold in the hills, transforming into a seething cauldron as it tips over a rock ledge. Van Ruisdael seems to be contrasting the immense energy of the tumbling water and the upright strength of the three towering pines with the human impact on this environment. We can make out the faint outline of a church tower on the left, and the grey turret of what seems to be a ruined castle is half hidden by trees and bushes on the right. But unless we look carefully, we hardly notice these buildings, nor the tiny figures on the path in the foreground.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Landscape with a Waterfall and a Castle on a Hill

Date

probably 1660-70

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 101 x W 86 cm

Accession number

NG737

Acquisition method

Bequeathed by Johann Moritz Oppenheim, 1864

Work type

Painting

Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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