The Landscape and Pastoral Painters of Holland: Ruisdael, Hobbema, Cuijp, Potter (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from The Landscape and Pastoral Painters of Holland: Ruisdael, Hobbema, Cuijp, Potter The minute touch and love of detail inherent in the Dutch character have proved no small stumbling-block in the way of the full realization of Landscape Art. It is, of course, difficult to compare modern work with old, but a Century hence Rous seau, at his best, will possibly be held a greater landscape painter than Ruisdael, Troyon will be justly placed above Potter, and the pictures of Corot and Daubigny will be more highly thought of than those of Hobbema and Wijnants, although the present craze for works of the Barbizon School will probably, before many years are passed, suffer a decline. That the Auction Mart is no true criterion of the artistic merit of paintings - even after the lapse of centuries since their production - becomes evident when we consider the case of the two great Dutch landscapists. Critics are unanimous in placing Ruisdael above Hobbema, and yet the works of the former have never realized such high prices as those of the latter. This is, however, doubtless due in part to the greater scarcity of' Hobbema's productions. That landscape art demands, more than portraiture and his toric painting, a bold treatment follows as a natural sequence from the fact that, as a rule, we regard our fellow-men near to us, and nature at a greater distance. Had Ruisdael and Hobbema and Wijnants, lived in these days, they would doubtless have treated their art in a holder manner. At that time they had not dreamt of the practice now prevalent with some searchers after truth - and first it is said adopted by Daubigny* - of painting a picture completely out of doors. The minute preparatory studies of detail which the Dutchmen made, naturally led to the production of highly-finished paint ings. On the other hand, the Dutchmen of the seventeenth century undoubtedly possessed an honesty and simple-minded ness of purpose in their Art which well compare with the habits of some latter-day painters. They loved their art, not for its profit, but for the pleasure it afforded them. And it seems hard that they Should not have received even a tithe of the sums which their works now realize. [in the face of the large amounts which their works now command, it is pitiable to think that Ruisdael ended his days in an alms house, and Hobbema found his last resting-place in a pauper's grave] It is surely hard to blame them for the absence of qualities which they, from their very natures and surroundings. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.