Artwork
Cows in the Meadow
Cows in the Meadow is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Bernard van Beek. It dates from 1908 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
Bernard van Beek executed Cows in the Meadow in oil paint on canvas in 1908. The landscape measures 69 by 93.5 cm. As a landscape painting, it depicts a pastoral scene with cattle, consistent with the genre conventions of Dutch landscape art of the period.
History & Provenance
Its provenance is documented through the Rijksmuseum's records, which confirm continuous ownership by the institution since its inception in 1908.
Cows in the Meadow is an oil painting on canvas created by Bernard van Beek in 1908 in the Netherlands. The work measures 69 cm by 93.5 cm and belongs to the landscape genre. It is part of the Rijksmuseum collection and has remained in the museum's holdings since its creation.
The painting was produced during van Beek's early period, reflecting his focus on naturalistic landscape subjects rendered in oil on canvas. Its provenance is documented through the Rijksmuseum's records, which confirm continuous ownership by the institution since its inception in 1908.
Cows in the Meadow, an oil painting on canvas by Bernard van Beek dated 1908, is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. The work measures 69 cm in height by 93.5 cm in width. No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
The painting is catalogued as a landscape painting within the museum's holdings, reflecting its depiction of the Dutch countryside.
Overview
Created in 1908, Cows in the Meadow is an oil painting by Dutch artist Bernard van Beek. The work presents a quiet pastoral landscape dominated by two cows standing in a verdant field, with a distant water surface and a sky washed in muted yellow‑gray tones. The composition conveys a calm, bucolic atmosphere that invites quiet contemplation.
Subject & Meaning
The central figures are a speckled white cow on the left and a brown cow with white markings on the right, positioned amid grass and wildflowers. Their mirrored reflections in the water behind them deepen the sense of space and reinforce the theme of harmonious coexistence between livestock and the natural environment.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Bernardus Antonie van Beek (30 January 1875, in Amsterdam – 3 March 1941, in Kortenhoef) was a Dutch landscape painter.
