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Landscape with a Church by a Torrent
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
It is not known if Ruisdael considered his paintings to be social or moral commentary, for no documents from his lifetime indicate how the artist or his patrons interpreted the works. But in this painting dangerous rapids block access to the chapel, and severed logs litter the middleground, hinting at life’s transience and the challenge to reach salvation.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineLandscape with a Church by a Torrent , c. 1670. Jacob van Ruisdael (Dutch, 1628/29–1682). Oil on canvas; framed: 100.3 x 83.8 x 10.8 cm (39 1/2 x 33 x 4 1/4 in.); unframed: 71 x 55.2 cm (27 15/16 x 21 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Jane Taft Ingalls, 1962.256
