Artwork
Landscape with Peasant Girls at a Stream
Landscape with Peasant Girls at a Stream is an unspecified painting by Unknown. It dates from 1670 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Created around 1670, this oil painting presents a quiet rural scene in which two young women are positioned within a leafy landscape.
About this work
Overview
Created around 1670, this oil painting presents a quiet rural scene in which two young women are positioned within a leafy landscape. The work is part of the collection of the Museum of Ethnography, where it is displayed as an example of seventeenth‑century genre landscape.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on two peasant girls: one stands on the left, balancing a large jug upon her head, while the other sits on the ground, apparently attending to the jug’s contents. The figures suggest everyday labor and communal activity in a pastoral setting, emphasizing the rhythms of rural life.
Technique & Style
The artist employs a nuanced handling of light and shadow to model the figures and foliage, creating a convincing sense of depth. Soft transitions between illuminated and shaded areas give the scene atmospheric clarity, while the careful rendering of textures—such as the jug’s surface and the surrounding trees—demonstrates a refined observational skill.
History & Provenance
The painting has been in the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings for an unspecified period, having been acquired after its creation in the late seventeenth century. Its provenance prior to museum acquisition is not detailed in the available records.
Artist & collection
Domestic Scene
Giacomo and Cardinal Marco, investing Andrea, Abbot of San Zeno, with his Benefice
The Nymph of Fontainebleau
Portrait of a Woman
Madonna and Child with Saints in the Enclosed Garden
Venus and Minerva
Family Group of Four on Sofa
Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale
