Aelbert Cuyp: An idyllic landscape
Where is Aelbert Cuyp's 'River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants’?
River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants (about 1658-60) by Aelbert CuypThe National Gallery, London
Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1691) is considered one of the foremost Dutch landscape painters of the 17th century. He is especially renowned for his depictions of idyllic and tranquil views of the countryside.
River Landscape (c.1640) by Cuyp, AelbertDulwich Picture Gallery
Cuyp's early career
Some of Cuyp’s early landscapes were influenced by fellow Dutch landscape painter Jan van Goyen (1596–1656) - such as 'A River Landscape' (1640), pictured here.
View of Dordrecht from the Dordtse Kil (1644) by Jan van GoyenNational Gallery of Art, Washington DC
Van Goyen was one of the main pioneers of naturalistic landscape painting in the early 17th century. He made many drawings which show that he travelled extensively across Holland and beyond, even going to Cuyp’s hometown of Dordrecht, which appears in several of his paintings.
River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants (about 1658-60) by Aelbert CuypThe National Gallery, London
New artistic influences
While his early works show the influence of van Goyen, Cuyp’s style evolved throughout his career. From the mid-1640s onwards Cuyp began to look to different artistic influences, and during the late 1640s and 1650s he went on to create some of his best-known works.
These works were large-scale landscapes painted in the Italianate manner.
Italian Landscape with a Draughtsman (ca. 1650 - 1652) by Both, JanRijksmuseum
Dutch landscape in the Italianate style
Although Cuyp never actually visited Italy, he was influenced by some of his contemporaries who had, most notably, the Utrecht artist Jan Both (about 1615 – 1652), who returned from Italy in 1641.
A pioneer of Italianate landscape painting in 17th century Holland, Jan Both’s style was greatly influenced by his travels in Italy and by the work of artists he had encountered there, like Poussin and Claude.
In particular, we can see how Claude's innovative use of light (shown in the bottom two works above) is influenced Jan Both's own style (shown in the top row of paintings). Light is used to illuminate the entire composition, creating an impactful relationship and depth between the foreground and background of a painting (this is referred to as the ‘contre-jour’ effect).
River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants (about 1658-60) by Aelbert CuypThe National Gallery, London
This landscape by Cuyp, 'River Landscape with Horseman and Peasants', painted about 1658-60, in the latter stages of his career, is reminiscent of the Italianate style found in the works of both Claude and Jan Both.
Cuyp's painting is bathed in a warm, golden light emanating from a source just beyond the edge of the composition. Our eye is drawn across the landscape towards the distant mountains and the hazy horizon beyond.
Although a print of the picture was once identified as ‘a view on the Maas at Dordrecht’ the river in the painting is not the Maas and there are no mountains in Dordrecht nor Holland.
Finally, the mellow light can be likened to a golden Mediterranean sky, unlike the cooler skies of northern Europe. The painting's soft golden glow of the light emphasises the feeling of the scene's tranquillity.
Cuyp's idyllic pastoral landscape
Cuyp's treatment of light and depth also creates a subtle, yet significant, contrast between the background and foreground of the painting. Our attention is subsequently drawn to the many figures, and animals, occupying the shadowy bank of the water's edge.
Dutch paintings of the 17th century often include depictions of cattle, including many of Cuyp's rural landscapes. During this time, cattle farming increased and large amounts of land were reclaimed for grazing.
Cattle therefore came to be increasingly associated with the wealth and prosperity of Holland.
If we look more closely, however, this idyllic pastoral scene is not all it may seem to be. The young figure standing just behind the resting herd of cattle points, perhaps anxiously, drawing our gaze towards something just along the river's edge.
Crouched in the bushes on the left, and poised on the point of firing, a man aims his gun at the flock of birds on the river, causing us to anticipate the impending moment that a shot might ring out across the water, startling the animals and disrupting the peaceful scene.
By including this detail, Cuyp deliberately brings the painting firmly back into the realm of reality, contrasting the actions of the hunter with the rustic idyll of the river landscape surrounding him.
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