Cow grazing

A grazing cow and two sheep; the cow standing in profile to left with head lowered; at left a recumbent sheep and another standing to right under a tree.

Etching, 1670, lettered with '1670 A. V. V. F.' bottom center.

From a series of three plates 1670, called Cows and sheeps.

Adriaen van de Velde (Amsterdam, 1636 -1672) belonged to a family of artists. His father Willem the Elder (1611-1693), a marine painter, was his first teacher. His uncle Essais (1590/91-1630) and brother Willem the Younger (1633-1707) were also painters. Despite his short career, van de Velde created a vast oeuvre of paintings, drawings and prints. His favorite subjects were meadows and Italianate views with drovers and cattle. He also painted beaches, dunes, forests, winter scenes, portraits in landscapes, as well as mythological and biblical scenes. Although he was primarily a painter of summer landscapes, he also depicted winter scenes and beaches. His early works, with their strict, precise technique and harsh, cold sunlight, show the influence of Paulus Potter. His mature style reveals the influence of Dutch Italian painters such as Karel Dujardin, Nicolaes Berchem and Jan Asselijn. This is reflected in his handling of soft sunlight and warm tones in his depictions of the Italian landscape.

He was also active as an engraver. His earliest known works are a series of six engravings executed in 1653. His twenty engravings depict mostly cattle in landscapes, occasionally with shepherds. These works were highly prized by collectors of his time.

A fine impression on contemporary laid paper, trimmed to the platemark, in good condition.

Bibliografia

Bartsch, Le Peintre graveur (I.220.11); Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish etchings, engravings and woodcuts c.1450-1700 (11).