According to Arnold Houbraken, Ruysdael was the son of a woodworker who specialized in making fancy ebony frames for mirrors and paintings.<ref name=Houbraken>Template:In langJakob Ruisdaal biography in De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature</ref> His father sent his sons, Jacob and Salomon, to learn Latin and medicine, and they both became landscape painters, specializing in ruis-daal, or trickling water through a dale, after their name.<ref name=Houbraken/> Jacob was registered with the Haarlem Guild of St. Luke and signed his paintings, while Salomon signed them much less often and was not a member for several years.<ref name=Houbraken/> Houbraken wrote that Salomon invented a way of creating sculpted ornaments that when they were polished, looked like polished marble.<ref name=Houbraken/> These were quite popular as a decoration on chests and picture frames, until the secret of their manufacture was discovered and widely copied.<ref name=Houbraken/>
Salomon was known for his landscapes and river scenes, and there are a few fish still life paintings known. Approximately 20 winter scenes exist including Skaters on a canal near the Plomptoren in Utrecht. <ref name=RKD/>
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