Page:Hofstede de Groot catalogue raisonné, Volume 4, 1912.djvu/174

160 JACOB VAN RUISDAEL SECT. the left three ducks fly into the bushes at the approach of a man who is seen in the distance. A genuine and very fine picture, but almost all the green has faded from the foliage. Signed in full on the left at foot ; canvas, 29 inches by 39^ inches. Acquired by the Empress Catherine II. of Russia. In the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 1136 ; it was there in 1835 (Sin., who valued it at ^450). 509. A ROAD AT THE EDGE OF A WOOD WITH A POOL. On a sandhill to the right is a tree. On the left, amid low bushes, is a pool. In the centre is an uphill road. On the roadside sits a beggar, barefooted and with cap in hand ; he begs an alms of a sportsman with two dogs. Genuine but very dark. The figures are by another hand, and may not even be contemporary with Ruisdael. Canvas, 20^ inches by 27 inches. In the Baudouin collection. In the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 1137. 510. A RIVER IN A WOOD. Sm. 304. In the right fore- ground is a half-withered tree, stripped of its foliage by the storms. Another tree, with its roots in the air, lies near. In the middle distance are bushes and an oak wood, from which a road leads to the river. On the road a man converses with two women, one of whom is seated. On the left bank of the river are three old oaks. A genuine picture of the very dark and late period. Undoubtedly it has darkened much through lapse of time, but the costumes also point to a very late period, and the figures have been painted in either by Ruisdael himself or by a later hand in Ruisdael's manner. Signed in full on the left at foot ; canvas, 41^ inches by 51 inches. Engraved by P. E. Moitte and P. E. Morelli, 1750. Then in the collection of Count Brtihl. In the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 1138 ; it was there in 1835 (Sm., who valued it at 350). 511. A ROAD BY A POOL. Sm. 310. On the bank of a pool to the right are three beeches. A road leads away to the distance. A traveller stands conversing with a seated man. To the left, on the other side of the pool, are trees and bushes. A decayed willow lies in the water in front. In the distance sheep graze in a pasture. The figures are by Ruisdael himself. Of the good middle period. Signed with the monogram in the right-hand bottom corner ; canvas, 19^ inches by 26 inches. Acquired by the Empress Catherine II. of Russia. In the Hermitage Palace, St. Petersburg, 1901 catalogue, No. 1141 ; it was there in 1835 (Sm., who valued it at 120). 512. A SPORTSMAN SHOOTING DUCKS. In a wood a river flows diagonally across the foreground and thence to the right back- ground, where its banks are covered with bushes and young trees. On the right, amid scattered trees, are two sportsmen ; one of them, followed