Jacob van Ruisdael

Seventeenth century Dutch culture was based on a wealth economy and the development was outstanding compare to other European countries during this period. Dutch society was run by the middle class, mainly the merchants and tradesmen at the cities, also by the upper class, which was not dominated by aristocracy or noble families. Freedom of worship was the most significant differences in Dutch society. This gave rise to the spirit growth and awakening of people’s spirituality. The country was not dominated by a king nor a single political party or church; as a result, Holland grew fastest in compare with other Europe countries in the aspect of humanity: people were free to think, say, and print what they want. Holland was the center of the book trade in Europe for many years and it is perhaps was the greatest single contributories to western Europe culture was its painting.
Jacob van Ruisdael, born around 1628 in Haarlem and died in 1682 at Amsterdam, is generally known as Holland’s greatest painter for landscape. He spent his childhood in Haarlem where at this time other landscapists were active, such as his uncle and teacher, Salomon van Ruysdael. The reason people think Jacob learned how to paint from his uncle was because the way they are painting are similar. Salomon was very specific what he was painting waterfalls and ponds. However, even as a landscapist, his painting only a few have likelihood match to the actual scene. Jacob, different than Salomon, enjoys painting the actual scene as much as possible. He likes to paint Jewish Cemetery and his views of Haarlem, which indicated how much he loved his homeland. The space of the sky and the land and the shadow on the land were very popular in his painting.