Drawing the Eel

Artist
Salomon van Ruysdael
Year
early 1650s
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
74.9 × 106 cm
Subject
Movement

Villagers gather on a frozen river for the old Dutch pastime of drawing the eel — a rowdy but good-natured festival game played at winter fairs. Salomon van Ruysdael, uncle of the more famous Jacob, was a master of such lively river scenes.