Landscape With Bridge, Cattle, and Figures, Jacob Van Ruisdael
The windswept countryside in Ruisdael’s painting looks entirely natural. Clouds float in the sky, casting shadows over trees, rocky crags, and a river, over which people and animals make a somewhat hazardous journey. Ruisdael carefully organized the composition to lead our eyes across the painting’s surface and included certain features for their subtle symbolism—the dead tree and unstable bridge are intended to remind us of the passage of time and the unpredictability of life.
