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Signed at bottom left: J. Siberechts en. anvers. 1672
The painters of the Netherlands have always found in their own countryside an almost inexhaustible treasury of themes. Fertile fenland stretching into the distance, carefully maintained farmsteads, fords, meandering lanes with carts stuck in the mud, bluish waterfronts - these are the motifs repeatedly found in the works of Jan Siberechts, one of the most popular of the Flemish landscape painters. And these landscapes are peopled with figures closely associated with the toil of the land: a buxom country woman sits on a milking stool in front of a barn, a girl with her skirt tucked up drives a cart across a ford, a young herdsman rests while his flock grazes. In these contemplative paintings the mood is gentle; their appeal lies in the sparse arrangement of the motifs, the harmonious structure and bluish-grey colouring.
In this picture, with its low horizon, light plays a very important role in connecting the foreground with the depths of the picture. It conveys movement and change and creates a feeling of harmony between man, beast and landscape.
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