Jan Stobbaerts, Holle Weg

by Atelier Liesjes

Two cows are walking away from the viewer along a sunken lane. The one on the left is almost white, with blue-grey patches across its flanks and back; the one on the right is dark brown to black, with a white patch near the shoulder. Their heads are low, their backs broad and heavy, and their legs disappear into the loose sand of the path. To the left and right, high, overgrown embankments rise up, covered with grass, scrub and the dark trunks of trees. Behind the cows stands a little whitewashed farmhouse with a red-tiled roof, half-hidden behind the greenery; next to it, more roofs and a small church tower are faintly visible. Above it all hangs a pale, yellow-grey sky with soft clouds; in the distance, the roofs fade into the mist.
The path acts as a funnel: the edges of the path and the trees draw the eye towards the little farmhouse in the distance. Stobbaerts painted the cows with broad, fleshy strokes and the surroundings with short, almost fleeting dabs, so that the animals seem to emerge from the green mass. The colour palette is soft and earthy: off-white, sage green, umber and the occasional red accent on the roof. This makes it a typical nineteenth-century landscape with livestock, in which the movement of the herd and the tranquillity of the countryside merge. The sunlight is faint and the colours remain muted and closely harmonised.
Jan Stobbaerts (Antwerp 1838 – Schaerbeek 1914) painted the countryside around Antwerp and the Kempen, often featuring livestock as an integral part of the composition. He was trained at the Antwerp Academy and is regarded as a Realist, with a preference for simple, everyday subjects. His work is on display at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp. A green, tranquil landscape set against a rural interior.