Landscape with a Church by a Torrent
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
unframed: 71 × 55.2 cm · framed: 100.3 × 83.8 × 10.8 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
European Painting and Sculpture
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Bequest of Jane Taft Ingalls
Accession Number
1962.256
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
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.