Artwork
Four Sheep and a Cow
Four Sheep and a Cow is a chalk drawing by the Baroque artist Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem. It dates from 1652 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Four Sheep and a Cow is a drawing by Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, a Dutch artist known for his pastoral landscapes, created around 1652 using red chalk on laid paper with a counterproof.
Subject & Meaning
The drawing depicts a simple rural scene: a brown cow and four white sheep in a field. The work is a study sheet, used to explore the shapes and lighting of the animals, rather than a finished composition.
Technique & Style
Berchem employed red chalk on laid paper, creating soft yet clear lines. The use of a counterproof allowed him to examine the composition in reverse, with faint traces of the animals visible in mirror image.
Artist & collection
Artist
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1 October 1620 – 18 February 1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and…
