(Dordrecht 1594–1652)
Child with a wreath of flowers, a sheep and a small dog in a landscape,
lower right remains of a signature: Cu.. p,
oil on panel, 71 x 66 cm, framed

We are grateful to Mr Fred Meijer of the RKD, The Hague, for confirming this painting as an autograph work by Cuyp after an examination conducted on the original. An admiration of the robustly realistic depiction of the time of day is already apparent in the earliest descriptions of Cuyp’s works. Smith compares its atmosphere to a summer afternoon and Waagen praises the extraordinary intensity and clarity of its warm colouring. The southern light illuminating the scene from behind is a characteristic of Cuyp’s later works, in which he attempted to combine Italianate landscape traditions with the realistic depiction of his Dutch homeland. This feature clearly reveals the influence of Jan Both, who had returned to Utrecht from Italy in 1641 and whose works primarily depicted Mediterranean landscapes. Cuyp liked to combine the genres of landscape and portrait painting, as is also the case in the present picture. The lower right corner of the painting is framed by a large-leafed plant, the extreme realism and graphic perfection of which are typical of the painter.

We are grateful to Mr Fred Meijer of the RKD, The Hague, for confirming ths painting as an autograph work by Cuyp after an examination conducted on the original. An admiration of the robustly realistic depiction of the time of day is already apparent in t