View of Beverwijk from the Wijkermeer

Salomon van Ruysdael was the leading painter of Dutch water landscapes. In this fresh breezy picture, the emphasis is all on the clouds and the water. Beneath an impressive cloudy sky, some small boats sail into the distance with billowing sails. In this way, Van Ruysdael created a great sense of space on a small surface. He worked very efficiently and left the brown base bare in several places, making it part of the picture. The water is a good example of this.