This painting of herders and cattle situated along an inland waterway and near an evocative ruin has arcadian rather than agricultural associations. In this respect it parallels a rich literary tradition that glorified the values of country life. These ideals, espoused by P. C. Hooft, J. van Heemskerck, and other Dutch writers and playwrights of the seventeenth century, seemed to have had particular resonance in and around Dordrecht. ^[1]

As is mentioned in the entry for Cuyp’s River Landscape with Cows, the artist’s father and teacher, Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp (1594–1652), painted a number of pastoral scenes in the 1630s and 1640s that had a profound influence on his son’s early style and choice of subject matter. ^[2] By the time Cuyp executed this work his style had evolved to the point where the rhythms of the landscape, the foliage, and the clouds had been fully transformed. Even though the theme has Dutch precedents and the ruin in the background is a free adaptation of the Merwede Tower near Dordrecht, one no longer has the sense that the setting is specific to the Netherlands. Cliffs, diffused in golden light, now border the inland waterway; clouds hang quietly over the land rather than being swept by winds off the North Sea; and the cowherd in the bright red jacket could just as well be Italian as Dutch. Indeed, in the interim between River Landscape with Cows and this picture, the influences of Cuyp’s father and of Goyen, Jan van have been fully replaced by that of artists who had returned from Italy and had adopted the Italianate style, particularly Both, Jan and Jan Baptist Weenix (1621–1660/1661). From these artists Cuyp also derived his broad, planar technique as well as the elegant and artificial rhythms of the foreground vines and branches one sees here.

Although it seems probable that Cuyp executed Herdsmen Tending Cattle in the middle to late 1650s, establishing a precise date for this work is difficult given the dearth of dated paintings in his oeuvre. Many of the components of this work—the contre-jour light effects, the atmospheric character of the distant landscape, the abstract shapes of foreground rocks and lacy branches, and even the donkey and its saddle—are similar in character to Horsemen and Herdsmen with Cattle, a painting that probably dates from the same period. The comparison between the works, however, points out that the nuances of light, abstractions of form, and compositional organization are not as developed in Herdsmen Tending Cattle as in Horsemen and Herdsmen with Cattle, which suggests that this work was executed somewhat earlier, before Cuyp had fully mastered Italianate ideas.

Although Herdsmen Tending Cattle has been widely published and praised, its poor appearance prior to its restoration in 1994 when discolored varnish and extensive overpaint were removed, made it difficult to fully appreciate its original qualities. The painting has, nevertheless, suffered various losses, and the surface is moderately abraded [see abrasion]. ^[3] The work appears to have been slightly trimmed, which would account for the rather cramped quality of the composition. Its original appearance can perhaps be deduced from an old copy in the collection of Graham Baron Ash in Norfolk, England. ^[4] In addition to the Ash copy of the composition, a replica is owned by Dr. Wallace B. Shute of Ottawa.

The original, plain-woven, medium-weight fabric support has been lined. Tacking margins have been removed, and the remaining paint edges are worn. Cusping is slight on all sides but particularly along the left edge, suggesting that the painting’s dimensions may have been slightly reduced along that side.[1] A large paint loss and a long horizontal tear are present in the upper left sky. The ground is of medium thickness, is pigmented, and has a cool, pale ocher color.

The paint, applied in thin layers with no appreciable texture or impasto, is modified with transparent and translucent glazes and thin opaque scumbles. Aside from the loss around the tear, scattered small losses occur in the distant landscape, along the edges, and in a vertical band through the cows. Moderate abrasion is present overall, particularly in the clouds and dark areas in the foreground and cows.

Conservation was carried out in 1958 to adjust inpainting in the sky and in 1978 to consolidate minor local flaking. A complete treatment was undertaken in 1994 in which old inpaint and discolored varnish were removed.[2]

[1] If the painting was reduced in size, the reduction took place prior to 1760. This is the date on a reproductive engraving by Francois Vivares, which shows the identical composition in reverse, except for a pair of birds.

[2]During this treatment the NGA Scientific Research department analyzed the blue pigment used in the sky using polarized light microscopy and found it to be smalt (see report dated February 17, 1994, in NGA Conservation department files).