Artwork
Landscape with Two Donkeys, Goats and Pigs

Landscape with Two Donkeys, Goats and Pigs is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Karel Dujardin. It dates from 1655 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Karel Dujardin specialized in animal genre scenes and often used such settings to reference the Four Seasons or to celebrate everyday countryside life.
The painting depicts a pastoral scene with two donkeys, goats and pigs arranged in a rural landscape. Karel Dujardin specialized in animal genre scenes and often used such settings to reference the Four Seasons or to celebrate everyday countryside life. The animals’ presence may symbolize agricultural abundance and the harmony of nature, reflecting Baroque pastoral conventions.
The work measures 35.5 cm by 46 cm and belongs to the Rijksmuseum’s Kabinet van Heteren Gevers collection.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1655, this landscape by Karel Dujardin is an oil painting on canvas. The work measures 35.5 cm in height and 46 cm in width. As a landscape genre piece, it depicts a rural scene featuring donkeys, goats, and pigs, consistent with the artist's focus on animal subjects within naturalistic settings. The application of oil paint on a textile support reflects standard seventeenth-century Dutch painting practices.
History & Provenance
Karel Dujardin created the oil painting Landscape with Two Donkeys, Goats and Pigs in 1655. Executed on canvas, the work measures 35.5 cm in height and 46 cm in width. The piece entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum through the Kabinet van Heteren Gevers, having been owned by Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers.
No specific details regarding the original commission or the intermediate ownership history between the artist's completion of the work and its acquisition by van Heteren Gevers are provided in the available records.
Landscape with Two Donkeys, Goats and Pigs by Karel Dujardin is held by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it forms part of the Kabinet van Heteren Gevers collection. The painting was previously owned by Adriaan Leonard van Heteren Gevers, whose bequest established that cabinet at the museum. No specific inventory or accession number, and no exhibition history, is recorded in the available sources.
Context
The painting Landscape with Two Donkeys, Goats and Pigs by Karel Dujardin was created in 1655 and exemplifies the Dutch Golden Age's fascination with pastoral scenes populated by livestock. Its depiction of multiple farm animals within a cohesive landscape reflects the artist's engagement with contemporary genre painting conventions while maintaining a distinctive compositional balance. The work is housed in the Rijksmuseum's Kabinet van Heteren Gevers collection, underscoring its significance within Dutch art historical narratives. Scholars have noted its importance in understanding Dujardin's development of animal subjects within European landscape traditions.
Overview
Karel Dujardin’s oil painting Landscape with Two Donkeys, Goats and Pigs was executed in 1655. It belongs to the Dutch Golden Age and exemplifies the small, Italianate landscapes that the artist produced throughout his career. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Karel Dujardin (September 27, 1626 – November 20, 1678) was a Dutch Golden Age painter.


















