Colorful mid-century impressionist painting of a pond reflecting the clouds. Oil on panel. Signed (Ed.Ryff). A dramatic, wide-format landscape dominated by a towering sky: layered bands of turqoise, slate blue, and warm cream-coloured cloud catch the light above a low, flat horizon. Beneath it, a shallow pool of water mirrors the sky almost exactly — the same blues, whites, and golds repeated in loose, confident strokes across the water's surface, bordered by strips of green marsh grass and deep violet-toned fields stretching into the distance. A small signature is visible in the lower right corner. The painting is a striking example of the quality Ryff was best known for: his ability to capture water in motion, and the way light plays across it, with an almost photographic sense of atmosphere despite the loose, painterly brushwork. The composition — sky and water as mirror images of one another — is a recurring device in his landscapes, and one that admirers of his work often cite as his signature strength. The handling of light and atmosphere here recalls the work of Dutch painter Henk Melchers and Jan Sluijter, whose influence on Ryff — given their shared Dutch background — seems plausible. The painting is in good condition. The newly fitted clean, simple profile complements the palette of the painting without competing with it — giving the piece a fresh, ready-to-hang finish. Size: 64,5 x 51,5 cm (with frame) About the artist: Edward Meyer Ryff of Dutch/Swedish heritage is an impressionistic painter who was active mid twentieth century. Edward Meyer Ryff (1915-1994) was a Dutch-born painter who spent most of his adult life in Sweden, where he remained until his death. He is known for his ability to render water in motion — a subject he returned to again and again, and one that admirers describe as almost uncannily lifelike. Ryff taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam. In 1938, he had his first solo exhibition in The Hague. In the folowwing years his work would be shown in several exhibitions in The Netherlands, before relocating to Sweden. In the early 1960s, he lived in Skåne. Ryff later moved to the small village of Röjan, where he opened a combined art gallery and inn ("konstgästis"). He lived and worked there for years, showing paintings to visitors. On 20 July 1994, a fire broke out at the property — reportedly started after his electricity had been cut off and he was heating the building with a wood stove — and Ryff died in the blaze, along with a large number of his paintings. Meyer Ryff is listed as a recognized artist in the Svenska Konstnärslexikon (Swedish Artists' Lexicon) In 2015, another painting by Edward Meyer Ryff (who also went by Eduard Rijff) was included in an exhibiton showing art acuired by the Dutch government during WWII in Museum Arnhem.
