A Woodland Road

From The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide, 1983 page 206.

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93 MEINDERT HOBBEMA, Dutch, 1638-1709
A Woodland Road
Oil on canvas; 371/4 x 51 in. (94.6 x 129.5 cm)

The luxuriant foliage, the lively play of light and shadow, and the figures that animate this country scene give it greater immediacy than that found in many Dutch landscapes of about this date, which is probably close to 1670. Nonetheless, Hobbema's descriptive abilities, adapted from his teacher Jacob van Ruisdael, are here complemented by sophisticated pictorial effects, such as the rhythmic massing of forms and deliberate diversity of textures and colors. Bequest of Mary Stillman Harkness, 1950, 50.145.22