Aelbert Cuyp - A Herdsman with Five Cows by a River [c.1650-55]

Aelbert Cuyp - A Herdsman with Five Cows by a River [c.1650-55], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

This painting is a mature work, probably of the mid-1650s, and shows how a traditional type of composition was transformed by the artist. The scene is illuminated from the left by the warmth of the sun which sparkles on the water, highlighting the reflections of the boats and the cattle. Cuyp (1620 – 1691) painted the subject of a group of cows standing in shallow water on a number of occasions.

[Oil on oak, 45.4 x 74 cm]

Aelbert Cuyp - The Maas at Dordrecht [c.1650]

Aelbert Cuyp - The Maas at Dordrecht [c.1650], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Here the river Maas is the focus of great activity; in the foreground a dignitary dressed in a black jacket with an orange sash has just arrived at a large sailing ship. He is greeted by a distinguished–looking gentleman who stands among other figures, including a man beating a drum. On the left, a second rowboat approaches, carrying other dignitaries and a trumpeter who signals their impending arrival. Most of the ships of the large fleet anchored near the city have their sails raised and flags flying as though they are about to embark. The early morning light, which floods the tower of the great church and creates striking patterns on the clouds and sails, adds to the dramatic character of the scene.

Cuyp (Dutch, 1620 - 1691) was probably commissioned to represent an event that occurred during the summer of 1646. At that time an enormous fleet of ships carrying thirty thousand soldiers was anchored at Dordrecht; presumably for symbolic purposes rather than for specific military ones as peace was finally at hand. The Treaty of Münster, which ended all hostilities with Spain and created an independent Dutch nation, was signed only two years later.

[Oil on canvas, 114.9 x 170.2 cm]

Aelbert Cuyp - Ubbergen Castle [c.1655]

Aelbert Cuyp - Ubbergen Castle [c.1655], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Ubbergen is near Nijmegen in the Province of Gelderland. The castle, which had long been a ruin, was pulled down in 1712. Because of its partial destruction during the Spanish occupation in 1582, the 14th-century castle was seen by the Dutch as a national symbol. Thus Cuyp's luminous depiction of the building may well have evoked patriotic feelings in contemporary viewers. 

Aelbert Cuyp (Dordrecht, October 20, 1620 – Dordrecht , November 15, 1691) was one of the leading Dutch landscape painters of the Dutch Golden Age. After he married Cornelia Boschman in 1658, the number of works produced by him declined almost to nothing. This may have been because his wife was a very religious woman and a very big patron of the arts. It could also be that he became more active in the church under his wife's guidance.

[Oil on oak, 32.1 x 54.5 cm]

Aelbert Cuyp - The Small Dort [c.1650-52]

Aelbert Cuyp - The Small Dort [c.1650-52], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Dordrecht (Dort) is seen in the background from the south-east, with the Grote Kerk in the centre, and the Vuilpoort, one of the town's water-gates (demolished in 1864) on the left. 

[Oil on oak, 66.4 x 100 cm]

Aelbert Cuyp - The Large Dort - [c.1650]

Aelbert Cuyp - The Large Dort - [c.1650], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

The painting shows in the background the town of Dordrecht (Dort) from the south-east. The skyline is dominated by the Grote Kerk with the Vuilpoort, one of the town's water gates (demolished in 1864), beyond the windmill to the left. This landscape is a mature work, probably of the late 1650s, demonstrated by the exceptional quality of the monumental representation of the cows, three at rest, and one standing placidly observing the milkmaid at work.

[Oil on canvas, 157.5 x 197 cm]

Aelbert Cuyp - River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants [c.1658-60]

Aelbert Cuyp - River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants [c.1658-60], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

This painting is one of the greatest 17th-century Dutch landscapes. It is the largest surviving landscape by Cuyp, and arguably the most beautiful. The entire scene is bathed in a gentle sunlight, harmonising all the elements, natural, animal and human. The quality of the light is Italianate. However, Cuyp never travelled to Italy, and he must have acquired this interest from Dutch contemporaries who did, such as Jan Both. This design is focused more directly on the landscape than in earlier paintings by Cuyp on the same scale, and the figures and animals are more minutely painted. The low sunlit mountains which dominate the peaceful scene are not a feature of the Dutch landscape, but based on mountains seen by Cuyp on his travels in the early 1650s. 

Cuyp was the son of the Dordrecht portrait and animal painter, Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp. Though based in Dordrecht throughout his life, Cuyp travelled widely in Holland, making drawings. In 1658 he married a wealthy widow and appears to have painted little thereafter.

[Oil on canvas, 123 x 241 cm]