This weekend, North Texans will finally be able to see the work of art that as been described as “exceptional,” of “superior quality,” “in near-perfect condition,” “impressively large,” and, most importantly, “a world-class masterpiece.” Such grandiose accolades are usually reserved for things that get better with age, like wine or cheese or Robert Redford, so it’s no surprise that all of these breathy descriptors fall upon a 17th century painting, a recent acquisition by Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum.
Jacob van Ruisdael
Edge of a Forest with a Grainfield, c. 1656
Oil on canvas, 41 x 57 ½ in. (103.8 x 146.2 cm)
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth
Said painting is Edge of a Forest with a Grainfield, c. 1656, by Jacob van Ruisdael, purchased by the Museum earlier this year and held in bowels of the building as it was reframed for showcasing—updated with an antique Dutch gilt frame that is “luxurious but restrained,” and in keeping with the other well-mannered frames on Ruisdael’s work of the same period.
The decadent yet tempered pastoral scene—“unsurpassed among Dutch landscapes,” says Kimbell Director Eric Lee—goes on display this Friday, May 16 in the south gallery of the Museum’s Louis Kahn building.
