Artwork
Landscape with Cattle
Landscape with Cattle is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist Peter Paul Rubens. It dates from 1636 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1636, this oil painting by the Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens portrays a bucolic landscape populated by grazing cattle and a few figures engaged in daily tasks. The work exemplifies the Baroque sensibility of movement and vivid coloration, and it is part of the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Subject & Meaning
The scene presents a pastoral meadow where several cows feed while a man in a red shirt bends over the ground, another figure milks a cow, and a child sits nearby. The inclusion of human activity alongside the livestock underscores the interdependence of agrarian labor and nature in 17th‑century Flemish life.
Technique & Style
Rubens applied the paint in a relatively thick manner, especially on the animals’ coats and the bark of the trees, creating a tactile surface that emphasizes texture. The handling of light—soft clouds in a warm sky and gentle illumination of the figures—contributes to a realistic, three‑dimensional impression typical of Baroque landscape painting.
History & Provenance
Although Rubens is best known for his grand religious and historical compositions, he produced a series of landscapes later in his career, of which this work is a representative example. It entered the Alte Pinakothek’s holdings through acquisition in the 19th century, where it remains on display.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ROO-bənz; Dutch: ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat.
