Artwork
The Cattle Ferry
The Cattle Ferry is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Esaias van de Velde. It dates from 1622 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
As a landscape, the piece depicts a rural scene, consistent with the genre classification assigned to the artist's output during this period.
Executed in 1622, The Cattle Ferry is an oil painting created by Esaias van de Velde. The work is classified as a landscape painting. While one record lists the support materials as both panel and canvas, the specific substrate for this particular instance is not definitively distinguished in the available data.
The composition measures 75.5 cm in height and 113 cm in width. As a landscape, the piece depicts a rural scene, consistent with the genre classification assigned to the artist's output during this period.
History & Provenance
The Cattle Ferry was created by Esaias van de Velde in 1622. Executed in oil paint, the work is classified as a landscape painting. Historical records indicate that the piece was once owned by Pieter Ver Loren van Themaat. The painting is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Context
Esaias van de Velde painted The Cattle Ferry in 1622, a work exemplifying early Dutch landscape painting's shift toward naturalistic observation and everyday rural scenes. The painting depicts a ferry transporting cattle across a river, rendered with meticulous attention to atmospheric effects and animal movement characteristic of van de Velde's pioneering approach. It is housed in the Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam, where it remains part of their permanent holdings of 17th-century Dutch art.
As one of the earliest signed landscapes by van de Velde, The Cattle Ferry holds significant place in art historical narratives as a precursor to more complex landscape compositions that would define the Dutch Golden Age.
Overview
The Cattle Ferry, an oil painting created by Esaias van de Velde in 1622, is a representative work of the Dutch Golden Age movement. It captures a tranquil rural scene focusing on the transportation of livestock by ferry.
Subject & Meaning
The painting's central subject is a ferry laden with cattle, guided by figures across a serene river. The backdrop features a windmill and a church steeple, set amidst trees and a cloudy sky with flying birds, conveying a sense of everyday rural life.
Legacy
The painting stands as a characteristic example of Esaias van de Velde's landscape oeuvre, contributing to the broader legacy of Dutch Golden Age art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Esaias van de Velde (17 May 1587 (baptized) – 18 November 1630 (buried)) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, mainly of landscapes and a printmaker who experimented with etching.
