Artwork
Landscape: Cottage by a Brook with a Boy on a White Horse which is Drinking
Landscape: Cottage by a Brook with a Boy on a White Horse which is Drinking is an oil painting by Patrick Nasmyth. It dates from 1819 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Overview
Patrick Nasmyth’s early nineteenth‑century oil, titled *Landscape: Cottage by a Brook with a Boy on a White Horse which is Drinking*, presents a quiet countryside tableau. The composition centers on a white horse and its rider pausing at a stream beside a modest cottage, all rendered in a calm, natural setting.
Subject & Meaning
The painting captures a moment of pastoral leisure: a young boy atop a white horse bends to drink from a brook, while a nearby cottage suggests domestic comfort. The tranquil atmosphere and gentle interaction between figures and nature convey an idealized vision of rural life.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil, Nasmyth employs subtle chiaroscuro to model forms and suggest depth, allowing the foreground horse and rider to stand out against a softly lit background of trees and foliage. The brushwork balances detail in the figures with broader, atmospheric treatment of the landscape.
History & Provenance
Created around 1819, the work reflects the landscape focus that defined Nasmyth’s career. The painting now resides in the Victoria and Albert Museum, where it forms part of the institution’s collection of British art from the early nineteenth century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Patrick Nasmyth, (7 January 1787 – 17 August 1831), was a Scottish landscape painter. He was the eldest son of the artist Alexander Nasmyth.
