Narcisse-Virgilio Diaz de la Peña, 'Cows at a Pool', possibly 1870s
About the work
Overview
A group of four cows drink at a pool set in a flat grassy plain. A few trees are dotted on the horizon. The cows form a focal point in the composition, their warm brown and ochre tones creating a contrast with the surrounding landscape. The sky is overcast yet the plain itself is painted in fresh greens. The whole is broadly and swiftly painted, the landscape rendered in long strokes of different greens, often with two separate colours overlaid wet-in-wet. Diaz uses more delicate vertical sweeping strokes of fluid paint to depict the rushes and grasses to the right of the pool.
Painted quickly, this is typical of the kind of sketch he would have dashed off, perhaps for a friend. Although the scene was undoubtedly painted from memory, it is probably based on the flat plains around the village of Barbizon.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- Cows at a Pool
- Artist dates
- 1807 - 1876
- Date made
- possibly 1870s
- Medium and support
- oil on paper, mounted on wood
- Dimensions
- 23 × 34.5 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Bequeathed by Hans Velten to the Tate Gallery, 1931; transferred, 1956
- Inventory number
- NG4579
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Sarah Herring, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings’, vol. 1, ‘The Barbizon School’, London 2019; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
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1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
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1970Davies, Martin, and Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School: Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post-Impressionists etc., London 1970
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2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
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2006P. Miquel and R. Miquel, Narcisse Diaz de la Peña (1807–1876). Monographie et catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint, 2 vols, Paris 2006
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2019Herring, Sarah, National Gallery Catalogues: The Nineteenth Century French Paintings, 1, The Barbizon School, London 2019
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
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