Artwork
Cows reflected in the water
Cows reflected in the water is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Paulus Potter. It dates from 1648 and is held in the collection of the Mauritshuis.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Scholars interpret the composition as an idealized vision of Dutch agricultural abundance and harmony with nature, common in genre scenes of the period.
The painting depicts a tranquil riverside scene in which two cows stand by the water’s edge, their reflections clearly mirrored in the still surface. A third cow wades in the shallows, while a goat, a milkmaid, and a man with a cart appear nearby, situating the image within a working farm landscape. Sheep graze on the opposite bank, and farm buildings nestle into the background, anchoring the scene in rural life.
Scholars interpret the composition as an idealized vision of Dutch agricultural abundance and harmony with nature, common in genre scenes of the period. The careful rendering of cattle and their reflections underscores the artist’s interest in naturalistic detail and the interplay of light and water.
Technique & Style
Paulus Potter executed Cows reflected in the water in 1648 using oil paint on a wooden panel. The artwork measures 43.4 by 61.3 centimeters. Stylistically, it operates as a genre scene that integrates detailed landscape elements with agricultural and human figures.
The formal composition depicts a variety of rural subjects, including cows, a goat, sheep, and a milkmaid, alongside a man and a woman. These figures are situated within a broader landscape setting that features a river, a farmhouse, a village, trees, and grasses (Poaceae). A carriage is also included within the scene, and the composition specifically captures the animals and surroundings reflected in the water.
History & Provenance
Cows reflected in the water is an oil-on-panel work by Paulus Potter dated 1648. According to its cataloguing data, the painting entered the collection of the Mauritshuis and is associated with the collection of Willem V, Prince of Orange-Nassau, indicating that it passed through the holdings of the stadtholder's collection before becoming part of the museum's holdings in The Hague. No commission details or intermediate ownership steps beyond this princely collection are recorded in the available sources.
The work measures 43.4 cm in height by 61.3 cm in width and depicts a riverside pastoral scene with cows, goats, sheep, a farmhouse, a village, a milkmaid, a woman, a man, a carriage, and trees, a genre composition consistent with Potter's early career in the late 1640s.
The painting is held in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
Its inventory number at the museum is 966. The work entered the Mauritshuis in 1822 as part of the collection of Willem V, Prince of Orange Nassau.
Overview
Cows reflected in the water is a 1648 oil painting by Dutch Golden Age artist Paulus Potter, characterized by a serene pastoral scene with cows, a farmhouse, and a carriage, rendered from a low viewpoint.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Paulus Potter (Dutch pronunciation:; 20 November 1625 (baptised) – 17 January 1654 (buried)) was a Dutch painter who specialized in landscapes featuring animals, often from a low vantage point.
