Explore the Other versions of this artwork, The Jewish Cemetery.
In Dresden, there was another version of the same composition, that some scholars believe was created after the Detroit painting. The Dresden painting is described as having the qualities of a more developed technique: lighter brushwork, a strong and simple structure, and greater perspective and clarity in the artist's approach. In comparison, the Detroit painting has forms that are more natural, firmer brushwork, and stronger, brighter, color. It is unknown if the paintings were commissioned or who their early owners were. However, Montalto's white illuminated marble tomb appears prominently in both paintings. Therefore, Jacob van Ruisdael might have been commissioned to paint it by a member of his family. There is also a possibility that he was merely exploring the dramatic aspects of a landscape. These paintings show a step back from the Haarlem realism that most of Ruisdael's landscapes represent. Many of his landscapes, even if they did not depict any real or identifiable location, would be painted in a realistic manner. Ruisdael's cemetery paintings however, show a more dramatic and "wonderous realm." Both paintings are though to have been created around 1653-55 and show a very similar depiction of the three tombs that are visible in the right foreground. Many other aspects of the paintings differ, however; the Dresden painting has a more "concentrated composition" with an emphasis on the vertical axis, which is made clear by the proportions of the church ruins and the flow of the stream, unlike the Detroit painting where the stream flows through the image quietly. The Dresden painting shares the moral lesson in general, less localized, ways while the Detroit painting uses the Romanesque church tower and other key features to keep the painting tied to the specific location of Ouderkerk.
A potential third painting, a panel, appeared in Rotterdam at an auction on October 11, 1855. Its current location, however, remains unknown. The Teyler Museum in Haarlem, Amsterdam, also houses two sketches of the cemetery. Both drawings are rigorously topographical, without figures, and stylistically equivalent. Similar to Detroit and Dresden paintings, the tombs are realistically depicted. The drawings are finished works, signed by the artist, and not just sketches for the paintings though they are clearly related. They became well known in the late 1670s, as they were reproduced by the engraver Abraham Blooteling, and later were used in a pair of etchings by Romeyn de Hooghe that depicted the Ouderkerk cemetery.
Ouderkerk Amsterdam Jacob van Ruisdael Romeyn de Hooghe Dresden Haarlem Teyler Museum Abraham Blooteling Rotterdam