Young Herdsmen with Cows

Sun-streaked clouds scudding across the sky dominate this placid landscape, a classic example of the luminous style that made Cuyp a beloved artist among eighteenth- and nineteenth-century collectors. Based on studies made in nature, the painting is nonetheless a studio confection. Resting livestock and agrarian laborers appear as timeless parts of the landscape in a reassuring vision for the landowning collectors able to display such a monumental scene.

Credit: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913