Currently not on view

View of Dordrecht,

ca. 1660

Salomon van Ruysdael, ca. 1602–1670; born Naarden, Netherlands; died Haarlem, Netherlands
y1980-13
Salomon van Ruysdael presents a view of the city of Dordrecht from the southwest. The vast Dutch sky with its scudding clouds takes up more than half the painting. In the foreground, the painter depicts a sailboat laden with cargo and a rowboat ferrying passengers, evidence of the importance of water in the life and commerce of the Dutch. On the banks of the river are the city’s most important landmarks: the Grote Kerk, the former cathedral; the Town Hall to its right; and, sketched beyond it, the Nieuwkerk, the burial place of many prominent Dordrecht families. The view is not topographically accurate, and it is unclear that Ruysdael actually visited Dordrecht. He might have based his painting on an earlier one by his close friend and fellow artist Jan van Goyen, who painted a number of panoramas of the city.

More Context

Handbook Entry

Information

Title
View of Dordrecht
Dates

ca. 1660

Medium
Oil on wood panel
Dimensions
34.5 x 61 cm (13 9/16 x 24 in.) frame: 58.4 x 85.4 x 4.8 cm (23 x 33 5/8 x 1 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of Brooks Emeny, Class of 1924
Object Number
y1980-13
Place Made

Europe, Netherlands

Place Depicted

Europe, Netherlands, Grote Kerk, Dordrecht

Signatures
Monogram painted on sailboat
Culture
Materials

<p>S[alomon]. B[enedikt]. Goldschmidt (Frankfurt 1818-1906 Vienna); his sale, Kunsthandel Friedrich Schwarz, Vienna, March 11, 1907, lot 40; Julius Böhler, Munich [1]; James Jewett Stillman, New York and Paris (1850-1918); likely by descent to his daughter, Isabel Stillman Rockefeller (d. 1935) and Percy Avery Rockefeller (d. 1934); likely by descent to their daughter, Winifred Rockefeller Emeny (d. 1951) and Brooks Emeny (d. 1980); bequest to Princeton University Art Museum.</p><p>[1] Letter from Wolfgang Stechow to Henry Sayles Francis (Cleveland Museum of Art), October 31, 1939. </p>