Dune Landscape with Rabbit Hunt

A small early work by the most famous landscape painter of the Golden Age. Jacob van Ruisdael probably painted it when he was in his early twenties. The size and the way the clouds and the chiaroscuro are handled make it very similar to other early work by the painter. It shows a dune landscape near Haarlem, a subject that was also popular with other painters of the period. On the left is a hunter with a dog, hunting a rabbit. In the centre foreground, a red-coated man on a horse creates a subtle contrasting accent against the green. Behind him are some buildings and a little windmill. The sea can just be glimpsed on the horizon. Jacob borrowed one of his uncle Salomon’s tricks to suggest depth: a bank of cloud running diagonally.