Peasants with Cattle and Sheep
mid-17th century
Medium
Black chalk, brush and gray wash
Dimensions
sheet: 8 9/16 x 13 3/16 in. (21.7 x 33.5 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Guy Wildenstein Gift, 2004
Accession Number
2004.301
Tags
Art Historical Context
Adriaen van de Velde's *Peasants with Cattle and Sheep*, created in the mid-17th century, captures the serene rhythms of rural Dutch life during the Golden Age. This intimate drawing features men and women tending to cows, sheep, and dogs in a pastoral setting, reflecting the era's fascination with everyday countryside scenes. Van de Velde (1636–1672), a master of landscape and animal depiction, often infused his works with a poetic realism, blending human figures harmoniously with nature. Executed in black chalk with brush and gray wash on a modest sheet (8 9/16 x 13 3/16 in.), the piece exe...
About the Artist
Adriaen van de Velde · 1636–1672
Adriaen van de Velde (1636–1672) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, draftsman, and etcher renowned for his luminous pastoral landscapes and his extraordinary versatility. Born in Amsterdam, he was the son of the marine painter Willem van de Velde the Elder and brother of the marine painter Willem van de Velde the Younger. He studied under Jan Wijnants, a landscape specialist, and possibly under Phili...