Ruisdael was probably the pupil of his father, the frame maker and artist Isaak de Goyer, who later called himself Ruysdael. None of Isaak’s paintings have been identified with certainty, and it is impossible to determine the nature and extent of his influence on his son’s art. Ruisdael’s earliest works are dated 1646, and the influence of Cornelis Vroom, another Haarlem landscapist, is often noticeable. Two years later Ruisdael became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem. From 1650 to 1653 he traveled extensively in the Netherlands and the neighbouring parts of western Germany. About 1655 he settled in Amsterdam, of which he became a free citizen in 1659. Meindert Hobbema was his most famous pupil and follower.
Ruisdael was probably the pupil of his father, the frame maker and artist Isaak de Goyer, who later called himself Ruysdael. None of Isaak’s paintings have been identified with certainty, and it is impossible to determine the nature and extent of his influence on his son’s art. Ruisdael’s earliest works are dated 1646, and the influence of Cornelis Vroom, another Haarlem landscapist, is often noticeable. Two years later Ruisdael became a member of the Guild of St. Luke in Haarlem. From 1650 to 1653 he traveled extensively in the Netherlands and the neighbouring parts of western Germany. About 1655 he settled in Amsterdam, of which he became a free citizen in 1659. Meindert Hobbema was his most famous pupil and follower.