A wooded river landscape with a family at rest on a track

Dated to the 1670s by Seymour Slive (loc. cit.), the present landscape shows the artist at the pinnacle of his talent. In his quest to capture the noble beauty of nature, he effortlessly manipulates the spatial organization of his imaginary landscape into a sophisticated and natural composition, with the open vista between the large-scale forms of growths and a sloping bank allowing the viewer a glimpse into the lush green beyond. The trees and shrubberies offer a strong compositional counterbalance to the overwhelming azure sky in which magnificent formations of cumulus clouds slowly pass before the viewer’s eye. Some of the leaves have turned brown, heralding autumn, and the dead tree stump and trunks in the left foreground also evoke the passage of time.

Another well-known hallmark of Ruisdael’s mature style that can be admired in this work is the assured handling, combined with an acute observation of details. The reeds, grass and rapidly moving water of the river are painted with quick and vigorous strokes. Ruisdael's lively brushwork enriches the overall texture of the painting and imbues the scene with poetic motion.