Artwork
Group portrait in a landscape
Group portrait in a landscape is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp. It dates from 1639 and is held in the collection of the collection Adriaan van der Hoop. Jacob Gerritsz.
About this work
Overview
Jacob Gerritsz. Cuijps created the oil painting *Group portrait in a landscape* in 1639, a work now held by the Rijksmuseum. Executed during the Dutch Golden Age, the canvas combines portraiture with an expansive outdoor setting, reflecting Cuijps’s dual interest in figures and pastoral scenery.
Subject & Meaning
The composition gathers a family group beside a large black horse. A woman in a dark dress cradles a lamb, while two children stand nearby—one wearing a hat and floral garland, the other holding the horse’s reins. A dog lies on the ground, and a man in a wide‑brimmed hat leans against a cart. Distant figures walk through a tree‑lined landscape, suggesting a narrative of rural domestic life.
Technique & Style
Cuijps employs a careful modulation of light, allowing the sunlit portions of the figures and animal to emerge from a softer, shadowed background. The contrast between the horse’s deep coat and the lighter tones of clothing and foliage creates a subtle chiaroscuro effect that adds depth and three‑dimensionality to the scene.
History & Provenance
Born in Dordrecht in 1594, Cuijps worked there throughout his career until his death in 1652. *Group portrait in a landscape* was painted at the height of his activity and entered the Rijksmuseum collection, where it remains accessible to the public as part of the museum’s Dutch Golden Age holdings.
Context
During the early seventeenth century, Dutch artists frequently merged portraiture with genre and landscape elements, reflecting the era’s growing interest in everyday life and the natural world. Cuijps’s work exemplifies this trend, situating a familial group within a detailed, bucolic environment that highlights both social status and connection to the land.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jacob Gerritszoon Cuyp or Cuijp (1594–1652) was a portrait and landscape painter, best known for his portraits.
