Floor plan

Artist galleriesAelbert Cuyp

Aelbert Cuyp

Golden sunlight pours across a landscape with three people on horseback and two more people near a flock of sheep, a cow, and a mule in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The horizon is about a third of the way up the composition and is lined with towers on distant, hazy, pale yellow hills. Two of the horses are to the right of center, both facing us. The horse on the left is white, and the rider wears an azure-blue tunic and red brimless cap. The other horse is brown with a white blaze, and its rider wears a red tunic and black cap. That second rider points with a whip to the sitting and standing people near the sheep, to the right. Those two people wear brown jackets, and the standing man has a mustache. The seated person rests a long staff over one shoulder. About half of the nine sheep there lie on the ground, and the others stand. The cow dips her head down to the sheep, and the splay-footed donkey has baskets hung to each side. This grouping is in front of a copse of tall trees that nearly reach the top edge of the composition. The third rider is to our left and a short distance away. That dark brown horse gallops to our right. A short distance away, another herdsman along the left edge of the composition wears a red tunic and brown pants, and he rests a long staff on one shoulder. One cow stands and one lies down next to that herdsman. Sunlight rakes across twigs, leafy plants, scrubby growth, and rocks in the foreground, closest to us. Sailboats float on the waterways that stretch horizontally across the painting in the distance, and the land separating those bodies of water is dotted with spires, windmills, towers, and other structures. A dozen dark birds fly high in the sky, which takes up the top two-thirds of the picture. A bank of iridescent yellow and pearly white clouds trundle across the pale blue sky. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “A.cuijp.”
Travelers in Hilly Countryside, by Aelbert Cuyp, c. 1650
An elegantly dressed man and woman ride horses toward us and to our right in a landscape with low, rolling hills, stone buildings, and trees in this horizontal painting. The two horses and riders take up the right half of the composition. Both people have pale skin and look at us. The woman has a high forehead, a straight nose, a round face, and curly blond hair falling to her shoulders. She wears a sapphire-blue dress with slashed sleeves to reveal a white garment beneath. Her hat is adorned with blue and white feathers, and she wears a string of pearls around her neck. The legs of her white horse darken to black below the knees, and the bridle is tied with blue bows near the horse’s ears. The sidesaddle sits on a woven, rug-like blanket. Next to her, to our right, the man rides a larger chestnut-brown horse with a white triangle between its eyes. The man looks at us out of the corners of his dark eyes under gathered brows. He has a long, straight nose and is cleanshaven, though a hint of a five o’clock shadow slightly darkens his cleft chin. His light brown hair falls in curls down past his shoulders, and he wears a dark brown coat with voluminous white fabric rippling out above tan-colored gloves. He holds a riding crop in his right hand, on our left, resting against his hip. Near the white horse’s feet, to our left, a dark brown dog with a white nose sniffs at a plant. Behind it, another reddish-brown dog sniffs the ground near the horse’s back hoof. A third dog stands beyond, partially obscured by bushes and plants growing in the lower left corner of the canvas. A man wearing a tall black, wide-brimmed hat and carrying a long staff leads two slender dogs resembling grayhounds on leashes along the path, a little behind the riders. Two more elegantly dressed men ride horses toward us father back on the path. Sand-colored stone buildings, hazy in the distance, are clustered around a squared tower, possibly a bell tower, to our left. The land dips gently to the horizon line in the deep distance. The riders are silhouetted against a swirling slate-blue cloud that fills most of the sky in the top two-thirds of the painting. The sky clears to pale blue to our left and then warms to golden yellow along the horizon, beyond the buildings. The artist signed the painting near the lower left corner: “A. Cuijp.”

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Aelbert Cuyp (Dutch, 1620–1691). Every work of theirs in the collection, in today's hang.

North wall

  1. Golden sunlight pours across a landscape with three people on horseback and two more people near a flock of sheep, a cow, and a mule in this horizontal painting. The people all have pale, peachy skin. The horizon is about a third of the way up the composition and is lined with towers on distant, hazy, pale yellow hills. Two of the horses are to the right of center, both facing us. The horse on the left is white, and the rider wears an azure-blue tunic and red brimless cap. The other horse is brown with a white blaze, and its rider wears a red tunic and black cap. That second rider points with a whip to the sitting and standing people near the sheep, to the right. Those two people wear brown jackets, and the standing man has a mustache. The seated person rests a long staff over one shoulder. About half of the nine sheep there lie on the ground, and the others stand. The cow dips her head down to the sheep, and the splay-footed donkey has baskets hung to each side. This grouping is in front of a copse of tall trees that nearly reach the top edge of the composition. The third rider is to our left and a short distance away. That dark brown horse gallops to our right. A short distance away, another herdsman along the left edge of the composition wears a red tunic and brown pants, and he rests a long staff on one shoulder. One cow stands and one lies down next to that herdsman. Sunlight rakes across twigs, leafy plants, scrubby growth, and rocks in the foreground, closest to us. Sailboats float on the waterways that stretch horizontally across the painting in the distance, and the land separating those bodies of water is dotted with spires, windmills, towers, and other structures. A dozen dark birds fly high in the sky, which takes up the top two-thirds of the picture. A bank of iridescent yellow and pearly white clouds trundle across the pale blue sky. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner, “A.cuijp.”
    Horsemen and Herdsmen with CattleAelbert Cuyp, 1655/1660Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Travelers in Hilly Countryside, by Aelbert Cuyp, c. 1650
    Travelers in Hilly CountrysideAelbert Cuyp, c. 1650Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. An elegantly dressed man and woman ride horses toward us and to our right in a landscape with low, rolling hills, stone buildings, and trees in this horizontal painting. The two horses and riders take up the right half of the composition. Both people have pale skin and look at us. The woman has a high forehead, a straight nose, a round face, and curly blond hair falling to her shoulders. She wears a sapphire-blue dress with slashed sleeves to reveal a white garment beneath. Her hat is adorned with blue and white feathers, and she wears a string of pearls around her neck. The legs of her white horse darken to black below the knees, and the bridle is tied with blue bows near the horse’s ears. The sidesaddle sits on a woven, rug-like blanket. Next to her, to our right, the man rides a larger chestnut-brown horse with a white triangle between its eyes. The man looks at us out of the corners of his dark eyes under gathered brows. He has a long, straight nose and is cleanshaven, though a hint of a five o’clock shadow slightly darkens his cleft chin. His light brown hair falls in curls down past his shoulders, and he wears a dark brown coat with voluminous white fabric rippling out above tan-colored gloves. He holds a riding crop in his right hand, on our left, resting against his hip. Near the white horse’s feet, to our left, a dark brown dog with a white nose sniffs at a plant. Behind it, another reddish-brown dog sniffs the ground near the horse’s back hoof. A third dog stands beyond, partially obscured by bushes and plants growing in the lower left corner of the canvas. A man wearing a tall black, wide-brimmed hat and carrying a long staff leads two slender dogs resembling grayhounds on leashes along the path, a little behind the riders. Two more elegantly dressed men ride horses toward us father back on the path. Sand-colored stone buildings, hazy in the distance, are clustered around a squared tower, possibly a bell tower, to our left. The land dips gently to the horizon line in the deep distance. The riders are silhouetted against a swirling slate-blue cloud that fills most of the sky in the top two-thirds of the painting. The sky clears to pale blue to our left and then warms to golden yellow along the horizon, beyond the buildings. The artist signed the painting near the lower left corner: “A. Cuijp.”
    Lady and Gentleman on HorsebackAelbert Cuyp, c. 1655, reworked 1660/1665Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington