Country House in a Park

Jacob van Ruisdael

National Gallery of Art

A garden with two fountains stretches back to a manor house in the distance in this horizontal landscape painting. The horizon comes about a third of the way up the composition, and gray clouds tower in the vivid blue sky above. A pine tree closer to us to the left of center rises high against the sky. There are a few more evergreens to the right among dark-green canopied trees. A yellowed pine tree has fallen on the grassy lawn in the lower left quadrant of the composition. Just beyond this, the fountain to the left has a tall, columnar base under a dish-like basin. Water fountains sprays up and out from the center of the dish and trickles down the sides. The fountain is topped with a statue, perhaps of a child. Three people stand at the base of this fountain, which is three times their height. The fountain to the right has a blocky base about the height of a person. Water streams out from the front and two sides in this view. On the base is an urn-like form that shoots water high into the air. Five more people stand, run, or walk across the garden between the fountains. The women’s long dresses have red, white, or black skirts and pale pink or black bodices. Two wear black head coverings, and the third wears a white head covering. One man wears brown and the other black, and both have wide-brimmed hats. Near the right edge of the painting, three more people wearing black stand around an arched opening that appears to be covered in moss and/or other plants. The people all appear to have light skin but not all faces or hands are visible. A broken column lies in the bushes in the lower right corner of the composition. The final person stands entirely in shadow in the distance between two rows of trees that flank an opening to the house. The structure appears to have two tall stories with four chimneys on the dark green-gray roof and light brown walls. Angular bays of windows are outlined with white trim on the symmetrical façade.