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A Pool surrounded by Trees, and Two Sportsmen coursing a Hare

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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There’s an air of stillness in this large painting that is unusual in Jacob van Ruisdael’s work. The clouds hang as if suspended over the forest and the leaves of trees – often restless in his other pictures – are quiet, though by no means lifeless. Reflections tremble a little in the water, and although the woods seem dark and sombre, the colours in the picture are rich and lustrous.

The deep greens of the oaks that form a screen across the space are given life by the contrast of the gold leaves of the birch saplings growing out of the pool and the silvery bark of the dead tree on the right. Bushes push out of the shadows glowing with amber and gold, and nut-brown lichen grows on the fallen branch in the earthy water. Only the big white dog splashing through the shallows after the almost invisible hare disturbs the tranquillity of the scene.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

A Pool surrounded by Trees, and Two Sportsmen coursing a Hare

Date

about 1665

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 107.5 x W 143 cm

Accession number

NG854

Acquisition method

Bought, 1871

Work type

Painting

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Normally on display at

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

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