Landscape with Cow drinking

Wijnants, Jan 17th century

Dulwich Picture Gallery
London, United Kingdom

"This pair are dune landscapes, typical of the countryside surrounding Haarlem . They are effectively variations on the same theme, articulated differently through their contrasting skies.

Jan Wijnants can never really be described as Dutch Italianate. However some of his landscapes do have Italianate qualities. Assumed to have studied with Jacob van Ruisdael , his name was better known in the 18th century when he exerted a strong influence on, for instance, Thomas Gainsborough ."

Details

Title: Landscape with Cow drinking
Creator Lifespan: 1625 - 1692
Date: 17th century
Physical Dimensions: w187 x h156 cm
Type: Painting
Medium: Oil
Work Nationality: Dutch
Support: Panel
Provenance: London, Michael Bryan in 1801; his sale, London, Christie's, 6 Mar. 1801, lot 51 ('A Pair of small brilliant Landscapes'). Bt Bourgeois for £26.5; London, Noel Desenfans and/or Sir Francis Bourgeois (1804 Insurance List, no. 23 or 24); London, Sir Francis Bourgeois, 1807-1811; Bourgeois Bequest, 1811.
Inscriptions: J Wynants
Further Information: "A pair with Landscape (DPG 117). Under the influence of Pieter de Molijn, Philips Wouwerman, Jacob van Ruisdael and others, his chief subject-matter was the landscapes and sand dunes near Haarlem. Wijnants uses the objects in the foreground – sand dunes, tree, water – to force the eye through a narrow gap that opens out to an expansive landscape beyond. The staffage is minimal; in DPG114 there is a cow drinking, a few other animals, and a figure with a burden on his back, and in DPG117 a distant figure on the road at the left and two people on the right. In the 18th century, artists including Thomas Gainsborough and Jean-Honoré Fragonard were charmed by Wijnants’ pictures and sought to emulate them. Gainsborough is even said to have added figures to pictures by Wijnants. "
Artist: Wijnants, Jan
Acquisition Method: Bourgeois, Sir Peter Francis (Bequest, 1811)

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