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Jacob van Ruisdael
Dutch, c. 1629-1682
A native of Haarlem, Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael first studied with his father Isaack and uncle Salomon van Ruysdael, landscape painters and sons of a frame dealer called Jacob van Gooyer from Gooi. The earliest date that appears on his paintings and etchings is 1646. Two years later he was admitted as a member of the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke; in 1659 he obtained the citizenship of the city of Amsterdam. During his lifetime, Ruisdael's works were under-appreciated, and he seems to have been poor. In 1676 he was registered as doctor in Amsterdam, having received a medical degree in Caen, Northern France, on 15 October According to Houbraken his father was wealthy enough to send him to school to learn Latin and medicine and was known for performing manual operations in Amsterdam.
Although often connected to Dutch Judaism, Ruisdael was not Jewish. His two paintings of the Jewish Cemetery are interpreted to be allegorical meditations on the transience of all life.
In 1681 the Mennonite congregation with which his cousin Jacob was connected petitioned the council of Haarlem for his admission into the local old men's almshouse. van Ruisdael died in March 1682.
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