The Cottage on the Hill

Jacob van Ruisdael, artist

1628 or 1629–1682

The Cottage on the Hill, 1650s

Where object was made: Netherlands

Material/technique: laid paper; etching

Dimensions:
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 7 9/16 x 10 13/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 192.09 x 274.64 mm
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 14 x 19 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Letha Churchill Walker Memorial Art Fund

Accession number: 1983.0016

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Trees & Other Ramifications: Branches in Nature & Culture," Mar-2009, Steve Goddard
The foreground trees growing along a stream in this seventeenth-century etching are probably Willows. These trees from the genus Salix have important medicinal and ecological applications. The anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing action of its bark was known in ancient Greece as well as to Native American peoples. The compound responsible for these medicinal applications is Salicin (whose Latin root is “Salix”), which is chemically similar to aspirin (Acetylsalicylic acid) and has similar effects when metabolized by humans.