Cows drinking

About this work

You see three brown cows standing at the edge of a shallow stream, their heads bent low to drink. Dupré painted this scene near the village of Barbizon, where artists lived in the forest to work outdoors. The cows aren’t posed—they look like they just wandered in from the field. His brushstrokes are loose and shimmery, almost like sunlight bouncing off the water. He didn’t smooth them out, so you can still see the quick dabs of paint. If you like this, look up *impasto*—it’s the thick, textured way Dupré layered his paint.