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

Peasants with Four Cows by the River Merwede

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Oil on wood, 38 x 50 cm
National Gallery, London

Cuyp also made paintings of the lively activity on the great rivers of the Netherlands, most often the wide Merwede that forks at Dordrecht into the North Maas and Lower Maas. It was Dordrecht's location at this juncture thast made it one of the principal cities of the country until traffic on the Maas was diverted to Rotterdam. Cuyp's river scenes are usually set late in the afternoon and are seen against a luminous, sunny sky that sparkles and glistens on the calm water.