Landscapes with views of towns and countryside. The small view of Rhenen.

Jan Ruijscher (a.k.a. Johannes Ruischer) was a Dutch etcher, draughtsman and painter, long resident in Germany, born in Franeker in 1625. His drawings suggest that he may have studied with Rembrandt in the mid-1640s, as they resemble the flat landscapes of other Rembrandt pupils of this period, such as Philips Koninck and Abraham Furnerius. He was also influenced by Hercules Segers, and was dubbed the 'Young Hercules'. From 1649 - the year of his first dated works, which are etchings - until 1657 he lived in Dordrecht. He was appointed painter to the court at Cleves in 1652 and went to Germany in 1657, working for the Elector of Brandenburg until 1661, and from 1662 to 1675, the year of his death, for the Elector of Saxony in Dresden.

This view of the Netherlands city of Rhenen comes from the series Six landscapes (Britsh Museum Collection online). It depicts neat, flat fields receding to the horizon, and the landmark Cunerakirk tower in the left background long before the 1897 fire and early 20th century rebuild. This is the second state of the etching; the plate was reworked by Ruijscher's contemporary and compatriot Anthonie Waterloo (1609-1690), who is represented by many landscape prints at Te Papa.

Sources:

British Museum Collection online, 'Six landscapes...', https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=1626156&partId=1&searchText =ruijscher+rhenen&page=1

British Museum, 'Jan Ruijscher (Biographical details)', https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database/term_details.aspx?bioId=109115

Wikipedia, 'Cunerakerk', https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cunerakerk

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art    April 2019