CUYP, Aelbert
(b. 1620, Dordrecht, d. 1691, Dordrecht)

The Dairy Maid

1650s
Oil on canvas, 106 x 172 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

From the 1650s onward golden sunlight becomes the all-pervading element in Cuyp's paintings. It spreads warmth and beauty over the Dutch countryside, where sturdy animals - most often cows - take the place of human heroes. They stand or rest in complete harmony with nature, breathing the invigorating air of the never-distant sea. Herds of cows in Cuyp's paintings can be seen as allusions to the pride the Dutch took in their celebrated, profitable dairy industry. In literature and emblems of the time the cow was used as a symbol of various abstract ideas (fertility, loyalty, wealth, moderation, and as a symbol of the Netherlands).