Cows Crossing a Ford with a Couple and a Dog Gm-25330501

Nicolaes Berchem (Dutch, 1620–1683) A man and woman lead their herd across a shimmering ford. The woman has already entered the shallow water and hikes up her skirt. A hefty cow tentatively dips its front hooves into the water. The hatted herdsman brings up the rear with a long stick in his hand. The group's movement is anchored around a pair of large trees that cross at the center of the composition.

Nicolaes Berchem liberally applied brown wash to the figures, animals, and central trees. Pools of wash in the foreground water evoke cast shadows. Behind the group, layers of gray wash contrast with the white paper to convey raking, midday sunlight. On top of the gray wash, Berchem's sketchy use of pen and brown ink suggest slightly rugged foliage.

During the mid-1600s, Berchem was one of the most popular Dutch artists working in an Italianate style. This drawing does not feature any typical Italian motifs, like columns or ruins, but the sun-drenched scene suggests an idyllic Mediterranean setting. In the century after Berchem's death, collectors across Europe sought out these pastoral views. To meet the continued demand for his work, engravings were made after his drawings; this sheet was incised to be made into a print.

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.