Are you sure it’s a country road and not a path between trees?
The second most famous Dutch landscape painter is Hobbema (1638.10～1709.12). He was a student of Ruisdal, and it is self-evident that he was influenced by his master in technique, but the artistic style he finally formed was not the same, and he was not as prolific as Ruisdal. Generally speaking, the mood of Ruisdal's landscape paintings tends to be melancholic and sad, while Hobbema's paintings appear brighter and simpler, and are also filled with a more cheerful atmosphere. The main reason is that the former mostly depicts barren hills and swamps, silver-gray skies and vast plains; while every painting of the latter is like a pastoral song, with an elegant earthy flavor. The tranquility of the countryside is unique and intoxicating. In particular, this painting "Pathway among the Trees" (also known as "Pathway in Midhasnis") is more meticulous and meticulous in this regard, and it is also the most praised by people. This "Trail among the Trees", which has now become a famous classical landscape painting, depicts a very ordinary muddy village road with many ruts of different shades printed on it. Thin and tall trees are lined up on both sides, staggered and scattered with each other. It is very Symmetrical yet full of variety. At the other end of the trail, a villager is standing leading an animal. On a fork on the right, there are two rural women walking and talking. On the right is a plantation, with a peasant woman pruning branches. The lower the horizon, the more space is left in the sky, and the painter has more possibilities to depict the beautiful sky with steaming clouds and rosy clouds. Why does such a seemingly ordinary picture have such great artistic charm? ?Any good landscape painting always blends emotion and scenery. Hobbema is a pastoral landscape painter who has strong feelings for his hometown. Although there were not many works in his life, he made on-the-spot observations on every painting and seriously experienced the beauty and poetry of nature. "Trail among the Trees" shows the perspective beauty of a rural scenery. The painter used poetic language to reproduce this pastoral scenery with a strong sense of perspective, giving the viewer a relaxing and beautiful feeling. Looking into the distance makes people feel relaxed and happy. The two sides are so symmetrical and appear very stable, but the subtle, rhythmic, diverse and unified details are like the jumping notes on the piano with slight changes in intensity. It's not monotonous at all, on the contrary, it seems relaxed and happy. You see, the rows of branches are scattered in an orderly manner. The dark trees in the near field are densely spaced with the plantations. In the distance, there is a church steeple on the left and two high-roofed huts on the right. All of this has been painted by the painter. Well thought out. The strict vanishing point of perspective takes the audience's mood far away. ?Because this painting successfully expresses the technique of focus perspective, it has been used as a classical demonstration work in the teaching of art techniques. The diversity of Dutch painting themes reflects the richness of Dutch social life like a mirror. In terms of landscape painting, these two masters - Ruisdael and Hobbema, show us the richness of Dutch rural nature. Colorful.