Salomon van RUYSDAEL Naarden, c. 1600 - Haarlem, 1670 The ferry crossing Oil on parquet panel Monogrammed on the tub lower left (Restorations) The ferry, oil on panel, monogrammed, by S. van Ruysdael Riverfront with boat , oil on panel parquet, by S. van Ruysdael 70,50 x 64 cm (27,76 x 25,20 in.) Provenance: A. Reyre, London; F. Kleinberger, Paris, 1930 ; From the dealer Capdevielle in the early 1930s; Acquired from the latter by Mr and Mrs Edmé Renaudin in 1932; By descent to their grandchildren; Private collection, Paris Bibliography: Wolfgang Stechow, 'Salomon van Ruysdael. Eine einführung in seine kunst, mit kritischem katalog der Gemälde', Berlin, 1938, p. 76, no. 69. Comment: Along with Jan van Goyen, Salomon van Ruysdael is one of the great representatives of naturalist landscape painting in the first half of the seventeenth century in Holland. A member of a famous dynasty of painters, he was the master of his nephew Jacob van Ruisdael. Born in Haarlem, Salomon became a member of the Haarlem painters' guild in 1623. Like Jan van Goyen, he was influenced by the work of Esaias van de Velde, who was active in Haarlem from 1610 to 1618. A prolific painter, he specialised in river and estuary landscapes, the first example of which appeared in 1626. Here, in portrait format, Salomon van Ruysdael depicts the passage of the ferry on calm water, where cows, dogs and men share the same boat for the duration of the crossing. The technique of indicating distance by representing a tongue of earth running diagonally across the panel and gradually receding is unique to the painter, as is the palette used here, composed of soft, muted shades of grey, green and brown.