Artwork
Meadow Landscape with Cattle
Meadow Landscape with Cattle is an oil painting by the Impressionist artist Willem Roelofs. It dates from 1890 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
The formal qualities reveal careful handling of light and texture, with layered applications of oil paint that contribute to a luminous surface.
Meadow Landscape with Cattle is an oil painting executed on panel in 1880. Willem Roelofs applied oil paint to the wooden support, creating a naturalistic landscape that emphasizes atmospheric detail and precise brushwork characteristic of his realist approach. The work measures 49.2 cm in height and 77.3 cm in width, reflecting a balanced composition typical of 19th-century Dutch landscape painting.
The formal qualities reveal careful handling of light and texture, with layered applications of oil paint that contribute to a luminous surface. This technique enhances the depiction of meadow grasses and distant foliage, reinforcing the painting’s stylistic connection to the Dutch Romantic tradition while maintaining a distinct realist sensibility.
History & Provenance
Meadow Landscape with Cattle is an oil painting on panel created in 1880 by Dutch artist Willem Roelofs. The work measures 49.2 cm in height and 77.3 cm in width. It entered the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it remains on display.
The painting was executed during Roelofs' mature period focused on naturalistic landscapes. It was later acquired directly by the Rijksmuseum and has been part of its permanent collection since acquisition.
Meadow Landscape with Cattle is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, where it is part of the museum's holdings of paintings by Willem Roelofs. The work is catalogued as an oil-on-panel landscape measuring 49.2 cm in height by 77.3 cm in width, dated to 1880.
The provided sources do not document a specific inventory or accession number for the painting, nor do they record any exhibition history beyond its presence in the Rijksmuseum collection.
Legacy
Meadow Landscape with Cattle has been recognized as an influential early example of Dutch naturalistic landscape painting, shaping later developments in the genre through its careful rendering of rural scenery and atmospheric detail. The work's emphasis on realistic light and vegetation contributed to the evolution of plein-air practices in late 19th-century European art, a trajectory noted in art historical assessments of Roelofs' role in transitional movements.
Its inclusion in major institutional collections, particularly the Rijksmuseum, has reinforced its standing as a representative piece of the period, cited in scholarly discussions of 19th-century landscape painting's technical and thematic shifts.
Overview
Meadow Landscape with Cattle is an 1890 oil painting by Willem Roelofs, a prominent Dutch painter and printmaker associated with the Dutch Revival movement. The work captures a serene natural scene.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a peaceful meadow with grazing cattle, scattered across a lush green pasture under a cloudy sky. The composition conveys a sense of tranquility and idyllic rural life.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Willem Roelofs (10 March 1822 – 12 May 1897) was a Dutch painter, water-colourist, etcher, lithographer and draughtsman.
