A Landscape with a Farm by a Stream
- Artist: Adriaen van de Velde
- Date: 1661
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Museum: The National Gallery
- Collection record: The National Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is "A Landscape with a Farm by a Stream" painted in 1661 by Adriaen van de Velde. The painting gives the impression of a vast distance, ending in low, misty hills that are entirely imaginary. The river winds its way past the cow and its calf, leading our eye towards the farm building.
The wide sky and dramatic cloud formation emphasize this sense of distance, while the shifting clouds illuminate different areas of the scene. Our eye darts from one to another to discover each small vignette and the story it tells.
The figures and animals in the painting are not imaginary, but rather taken from life through detailed drawings. The cow with its calf is a good example, as there's a preparatory drawing for this exact animal in the Amsterdam Museum.
In fact, Adriaen van de Velde often supplied both figures and animals to other artists' landscapes, a common practice in Holland at the time. He was part of a family of skilled artists - his brother Willem also worked with their father and later on his own terms.
See it in person
A Landscape with a Farm by a Stream hangs in The National Gallery on Trafalgar Square, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
