River Landscape with Sailboats
ca. 1640–42
Medium
Black chalk and gray, yellow, and grayish green wash; traces of a colorless varnishlike substance (probably gum arabic) on the grayish green wash toward the right; brown framing lines at the top and bottom and dark brown framing lines at the sides.
Dimensions
4 3/4 x 7 5/16 in. (12.1 x 18.6 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.769
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the serene *River Landscape with Sailboats Dutch Golden Age artist Aelbert Cuyp captures the tranquil beauty of his homeland around 1640–42. Cuyp (1620–1691), renowned for his luminous landscapes bathed in golden light, often depicted pastoral scenes with rivers, cattle, and expansive skies. This intimate drawing exemplifies his early mastery, using black chalk for precise outlines and subtle washes in gray, yellow, andish green to evoke the shimmering reflections on water and distant horizons. Traces of gum arabic on the green wash add a glossy depth, mimicking the varnish effects in his o...
About the Artist
Aelbert Cuyp · 1620–1691
Aelbert Cuyp (1620–1691), a leading figure of the Dutch Golden Age, was born and died in Dordrecht, Netherlands, where he spent his entire life. The son of portraitist and animal painter Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594–1652), Aelbert came from a family of artists—his uncle Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp and grandfather Gerrit Gerritsz Cuyp were stained-glass designers—and studied under his father, with whom he ...