Views of Amsterdam. Plate 5. St. Anthonis Poort.

Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael (c. 1628/9-1682) was a Dutch painter, draughtsman and etcher. He is generally considered the pre-eminent landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, a period of great wealth and cultural achievement. Ruisdael created uncanny dramas from looming clouds passing over wheat fields, windswept trees, and towering windmills. “He demonstrates remarkable skill in locating the exact point at which the creative faculty comes into contact with a lucid mind", the famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote of the painter.

In 1663-64, Ruisdael made a set of drawings of Amsterdam in the vicinity of the Amstel River, near the city's old ramparts, coinciding with the dramatic expansion of the city. These served as the basis for a series of six prints by the engraver Abraham Blooteling (1634-90). Te Papa currently has three of the set. This one, no. 5, depicts a landscape with figures walking up a slope (a rare thing in Amsterdam), towards a bridge over the River Amstel, the gate of the title, St Anthonis church with its steeple beyond, and the obligatory windmill on the right.

Sources:

Artnet, 'Jacob van Ruisdael', http://www.artnet.com/artists/jacob-van-ruisdael/

British Museum Collection online, https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=3294194&partId=1&peo ple=131971&peoA=131971-2-60&page=2

Wikipedia, 'Jacob van Ruisdael', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_van_Ruisdael

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   March 2019