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Notes
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Dirck van den Bergen was a pupil of the landscape and animal painter Adriaen van de Velde. A young apprentice would usually work in the manner of their master for a while, though most artists eventually broke away from their teacher’s example or developed their individual version of it. Van den Bergen, however, remained entirely faithful to Van de Velde’s example throughout his career. This painting, sadly darkened through age, is a case in point. A calf and sheep lie in the shade. A sturdy young bull faces us, the pattern of its hide and the little fringe of hair between its horns catching the last rays of the sun. Behind them, almost invisible, is a dun horse and a rocky formation – perhaps the ruins of the title. To one side a person, chin in hand and deep in thought, completes a picture of peaceful rural charm.
Title
Two Calves, a Sheep and a Dun Horse by a Ruin
Date
probably about 1665
Medium
Oil on oak
Measurements
H 23.8 x W 30 cm
Accession number
NG984
Acquisition method
Wynn Ellis Bequest, 1876
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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