Art Gallery

Ruysdael, Salomon van (1600/1603 - 1670), Dutch painter, the uncle of Jacob van Ruysdael, came to Haarlem in 1616, where he probably trained in the workshop of Esaias van de Velde, and became a member of the Lukas Guild in 1623. 

Salomon's earliest works show the influence of Esaias van de Velde and in the 1630s he was so close in style to Jan van Goyen that it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between the work of the two artists. They both excelled in atmospheric, virtually monochromatic river scenes and are the leading masters of this type of picture. In the 1640s his landscapes became somewhat more solid and colorful, perhaps reflecting influence from his nephew, Jacob van Ruisdael. Late in his career he occasionally painted still lifes. He was immensely prolific and many galleries have examples of his work. His son Jacob Salomonsz. van Ruysdael (1629/30-81) was also a landscape painter. An example of his rare work is A Waterfall by a Cottage (NG, London), which shows he worked in a style similar to that of his illustrious cousin and near-namesake, with whom he has sometimes been confused in documentary references. 

He must have been highly respected because he was made borough councilor, 1659-1666. His early dune and wood scenes, painted predominantly in yellow-browns and gray-greens, are reminiscent of his teacher and the works of van Goyen. His best works were produced after 1645; landscapes with wide, peaceful rivers, fringed with trees, on which drift boats or ferries, houses and spires, and a deep blue sky with only a suggestion of cloud formation on the far horizon.