RUISDAEL, Jacob Isaackszon van
(b. ca. 1628, Haarlem, d. 1682, Amsterdam)

Road through Corn Fields near the Zuider Zee

1660-62
Oil on canvas, 45 x 55 cm
Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid

In this landscape great clouds stand out against the intense blue, tinted with the different colours which indicate the presence of the setting sun. This same sun casts dramatic light on the wheat fields in the middle-ground and on the church tower, which glows in an orange light. In contrast, the foreground is very dark, although boldly structured with a snaking path which creates depth as it winds into the background.