River Landscape with Ferry

Salomon van Ruysdael (c. 1600–1670), oil on panel, 1649

With four horses, five dogs, two cows and eleven people on board, this slender ferry appears to be heavily loaded. The boats in the distance are also crowded with passengers. Salomon van Ruysdael was the interpreter par excellence of the flat, watery Dutch landscape. Here he used a dried-and-tested compositional formula: at right, a bank lined with tall trees, and at left, a body of water stretching out to the horizon.

  • Object numberSK-C-1698
  • Dimensions91 cm x 126 cm, 116.5 cm x 152 cm
  • Physical characteristicsolieverf op paneel