Forest
1640 - 1645.Not on display
This painting has traditionally featured in literature as the work of Jacob Isaaksz. van Ruisdael (1628-1682); this attribution is based on the signature but is disputed by various authors. During the technical study and restoration work conducted for the purpose of the catalogue (2009), the signature was found to be without craquelure, having been applied over the layers of non-original coloured varnish.
Valdivieso (1973) relates this landscape to Johan de Lagoor (1618/27-1660), a disciple of Ruisdael. Gudlaugsson links it to Ignatius van der Stock (active in the 1660s); Hofstede de Groot to Joris van der Haagen (1613/17-1669); and Bredius to Salomon Rombouts (1655-1689/1702). Finally, Gerson ascribes it, in our opinion correctly, to Simon de Vlieger. Indeed, its technique, colouring and illumination are consonant with the type of wooded landscape cultivated by Vlieger. It may be dated among his last landscapes, which typically include withered trees whose gnarled branches stand out above the leafy tops of the surrounding trees. There is another very similar landscape which has traditionally been attributed to Jacob van Ruisdael, but is now considered an original work by Vlieger (Posada Kubissa, T.: Pintura holandesa en el Museo Nacional del Prado. Catálogo razonado, 2009, p. 316).
