Jacob van Ruisdael or a revolution of landscape painting
January 18th until April 7st 2002

The first paintings by the Haarlem artist Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/29-1682) immediately marked him as a major innovator in the field of 17th-century Netherlandish landscape painting. His choice of motifs and his treatment of space and lighting sharply distinguish him from prevailing conventions of the period. One of Ruisdael's most innovative early works is a painting belonging to the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Landscape with a cottage from 1646. This key picture forms the starting point of the first exhibition in Germany ever to pay tribute to Ruisdael's impact on the development of Netherlandish landscape painting. The exhibition will mainly focus on Ruisdael's compositions in the 1640s and 50s. Their modernity for the time is made particularly apparent when compared with works by other Haarlem landscape painters such as Isaack and Salomon van Ruysdael, Jan van Goyen, Pieter Molijn, Cornelis Vroom and Allart van Everdingen. This aspect will be supplemented by several of Ruisdael's later works (including the famous Windmill at Wijk from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam), as well as works by other contemporary and later painters such as Meindert Hobbema, Jan van Kessel and Jacob van Mosscher. These works highlight the enormous influence exerted by Ruisdael's 'landscape revolution' on Dutch painting.

In addition to the early works, the exhibition will show forty works from the broad collection of the Hamburger Kunsthalle, many of which have not been on display for considerable time. These will give an insight into the range of Netherlandish landscape painting of the 17th century. They introduce the viewer to panoramic views and village landscapes, winterscapes as well as nightscenes and seascapes painted by Ruisdael's contemporaries.

As a special feature, the Hamburg exhibition will also include a close examination of painting techniques. X-rays and detailed explanations will reveal the conception and the painting process behind Ruisdael's masterpieces.

This exhibition is organized in co-operation with the Frans Halsmuseum in Haarlem and is supported by various renowned museums and private collections. It includes approximately 80 works, of which 35 are on loan from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Metropolitan Museum New York, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris. The exhibition in Hamburg was made possible through the co-operation of Philips GmbH; after being shown in Hamburg it will be transferred to the Frans Halsmuseum in Haarlem (April 27th through July 29th 2002).

The exhibition catalogue costs Euro 26