Aelbert Cuyp, 'Peasants and Cattle by the River Merwede', about 1658-60

Peasants and Cattle by the River Merwede

Aelbert Cuyp

On loan: Long Loan to the Mauritshuis (2023-2026), Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

About the work

Overview

It is the animals which take centre stage in this picture. On a grassy riverside knoll, four cows and a magnificent jet black horse are spotlit by the warm afternoon sun. Aelbert Cuyp was a brilliant painter of these beasts, especially cattle. He knew exactly how to convey their languor and ponderous bearing, how the light would catch their heavy, rippling hides and the tufted fringes on the powerful ridgeline of their backs. He often repeated the same postures in his paintings.

There are several reasons why cows feature so prominently in Cuyp’s pictures. The seventeenth century had seen increasing reclamation of grazing land, especially around Dordrecht, Cuyp’s home town; many of his clients would have had an interest in dairy farming or have owned land and property in the countryside near the city. The ruined castle on the horizon confirms the location – it is the castle of Merwede, about a mile to the east of Dordrecht.

In-depth

Being ponderous animals, cows do not strike many poses. You can paint them lowering their heads to graze or lifting their heads to low. You can depict them lying down, standing up, turning their heads; side on, head on, from behind. But that’s about it. So Cuyp worked by perfecting a series of these postures and often repeated them in his paintings. Indeed some of these cows appear in other pictures in our collection – the one on the far left and the cow standing and viewed head on both appear in A Distant View of Dordrecht, with a Milkmaid and Four Cows, and Other Figures (‘The Large Dort’), for example.

There are several reasons why cows feature so prominently in Cuyp’s pictures. The seventeenth century had seen increasing reclamation of flooded land, especially around Dordrecht, Cuyp’s home town. The distant castle here, outlined in the golden haze on the far side of the river to the left, is the ruined castle of Merwede, about a mile to the east of Dordrecht. It dates from the thirteenth century and a part of one of the walls still stands today.

The damp, low-lying pasture around here was much better for grazing cattle than sheep, and farmers had quickly learned to exploit this, improving both breeding stock and feeding practice and hence productivity. Cheese and butter were key exports and cattle had come to symbolise wealth and peaceful prosperity. Many of Cuyp’s rich Dordrecht-based clients would have had an interest in dairy farming or have owned land and property in the countryside near the city.

It may be that the gentleman on his horse depicted here reflects this kind of proprietorial interest. But, like the cows, it is another motif which Cuyp often incorporated into his landscapes. The image of a horseman who has stopped to survey the scene and chat with a herdsman or maid usually works both as a visual device, drawing us into the view, and, perhaps, a social comment, confirming the harmony of an established social order. Here, however, the feeling is a little different. The two cowherds do not engage with the mounted rider – perhaps they are even gossiping about him. He has his back to them and, instead of taking in the prospect across the water, he looks out of the picture towards an unseen view in another direction. We can’t ignore his presence, however: his dark outline against the grey clouds forms a dramatic intervention between the warm, soporific colours of the cattle and the golden glow of the sky.

Key facts

Details

Full title: Peasants and Cattle by the River Merwede
Artist: Aelbert Cuyp
Artist dates: 1620 - 1691
Date made: about 1658-60
Medium and support: oil on wood
Dimensions: 38.1 × 50.8 cm
Inscription summary: Signed
Acquisition credit: Bequeathed by John Staniforth Beckett, 1889
Inventory number: NG1289
Location: On loan: Long Loan to the Mauritshuis (2023-2026), Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands
Collection: Main Collection

Provenance

In the collection of William Herring in 1754. Bought from Morey by John Staniforth Beckett in January 1848; J.S. Beckett Bequest, 1889.

Additional information

Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School: 1600–1900’, London 1991; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.

Exhibition history

2007

Long Loan to the Mauritshuis (2007 - 2012)

Mauritshuis

1 May 2007 - 1 May 2012
2012

Long Loan to the Gemeentemuseum (2012 - 2014)

Kunstmuseum Den Haag

20 April 2012 - 20 July 2014
2014

Long Loan to the Mauritshuis (2014 - 2017)

Mauritshuis

6 May 2014 - 5 May 2017
2019

Long Loan to the Mauritshuis (2019 - 2023)

Mauritshuis

1 January 2019 - 31 January 2023
2023

Long Loan to the Mauritshuis (2023-2026)

Mauritshuis

1 February 2023 - 31 January 2026

Bibliography

1830

J. Smith, A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters: In Which is Included a Short Biographical Notice of the Artists, with a Copious Description of Their Principal Pictures […], vol. 2, London 1830
1907

C. Hofstede de Groot, Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 10 vols, London 1907
1960

Maclaren, Neil, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 2 vols, London 1960
1968

C. Duits, 'A Landscape by Aelbert Cuyp', Duits Quarterly, 12, 1968, pp. 3-7
1973

S. Reiss, Aelbert Cuyp in British Collections (exh. cat. The National Gallery, 3 January - 11 February 1973), London 1973
1975

S. Reiss, Aelbert Cuyp, London 1975
1991

Maclaren, Neil, revised by Christopher Brown, National Gallery Catalogues: The Dutch School, 1600-1900, 2nd edn (revised and expanded), 2 vols, London 1991
1991

P. Schoon, Aelbert Cuyp 1620-1691, Dordrecht 1991
1992

A. Chong, Aelbert Cuyp and the Meanings of Landscape, Phd Thesis, New York University 1992
2001

C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001

About this record

If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.

Images

More works by Aelbert Cuyp

(Showing 6 of 11 works)

A Herdsman with Five Cows by a River

Aelbert Cuyp

This small, evocative painting shows the work of Aelbert Cuyp at the peak of his maturity as an artist. It’s a picture full of light and reflections, transforming a simple view of a river at evening time into visual harmony.Light puffy clouds lit by the evening sun drift overhead, leaving patches...

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A Hilly Landscape with Figures

Aelbert Cuyp

The scarlet coat of the horseman catches our attention and we instinctively follow the direction of his whip, which he points away into the distance. And the concept of distance – just as much as the animals and figures in the foreground – is at the heart of this painting. Aelbert Cuyp has constr...

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A Landscape with Horseman, Herders and Cattle

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We're looking at a landscape in the Low Countries, probably the flatlands between Nijmegen and Cleves in the eastern part of the Netherlands, which Cuyp had visited in the early 1650s. But the golden light, and that implied heat, is more reminiscent of southern Europe than the north. It was a com...

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A River Scene with Distant Windmills

Aelbert Cuyp

Aelbert Cuyp made this painting when he was aged about 20 or 21 and it shows his early grasp of how to create a sense of distance and evoke the atmosphere of a cloudy day in the Low Countries.At the time, Cuyp was much influenced by the landscape painter Jan van Goyen. Both artists used a very re...

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Portrait of Cornelis van Someren

Aelbert Cuyp

Aelbert Cuyp is famous for his landscapes but he also painted a small number of portraits, of which this is a rare example. For some time it was believed that the sitter might be Cuyp’s father, Jacob, a portraitist who taught his son to paint. However, it is now believed to depict Cornelis van So...

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River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants

Aelbert Cuyp

Clear, soft light illuminates a peaceful landscape, giving a sense that everything is in its place and all’s well with the world. But the rider’s attention is caught by a young lad who seems to point anxiously towards something likely to disturb the tranquillity. Crouched in the bushes on the lef...

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The Large Dort

Aelbert Cuyp

Cows often feature in pastoral landscapes, but it is rare for them to be given quite such heroic status as the four monumental brown beasts which dominate the foreground of this large canvas. They relegate the shepherd to the hill and the milkmaid, who funnels the results of her labour into a bra...

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The Maas at Dordrecht in a Storm

Aelbert Cuyp

Aelbert Cuyp is best known for landscapes which evoke a strong sense of peace, plenty and prosperity. This picture, which is probably an early work, is very different. It is defined by the lightning which flashes across the sky above Cuyp’s home town of Dordrecht. It captures an instant – the mom...

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The Small Dort

Aelbert Cuyp

This painting is very similar to but roughly half the size of another landscape by Aelbert Cuyp, also in the National Gallery’s collection: A Distant View of Dordrecht, with a Milkmaid and Four Cows, and Other Figures. We don't know which was painted first but presumably one of Cuyp’s customers s...

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Ubbergen Castle

Aelbert Cuyp

The ruins of this castle seem to have been absorbed by the landscape. Aelbert Cuyp has employed the same palette of colours and the same camouflage patterns to depict the crumbling walls as he used for the autumnal woods and the hillside behind. The reflections in the still waters of the lake add...

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A Herdsman with Seven Cows by a River

Imitator of Aelbert Cuyp

This peaceful rural idyll is possibly a copy of an unknown painting by the great Dutch landscape painter Aelbert Cuyp. It may even be a pastiche imitating his style by Jacob van Strij, who painted such pictures.The vast sky and the distant windmill, water and trees are typical of Cuyp’s view of t...

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You've viewed 6 of 11 works

Aelbert Cuyp, 'Peasants and Cattle by the River Merwede', about 1658-60

About the work

Overview

In-depth

Key facts

Details

Provenance

Additional information

Source

Exhibition history

Bibliography

About this record

Images

More works by Aelbert Cuyp