Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek the Elder, 1807 Middelburg - 1868/70 Hilversum

WOODED LANDSCAPE WITH A SHEPHERD AND HIS HERD
Oil on wood.
24.5 x 35 cm.
Signed and dated "M A Koekkoek 1851" lower right.
In decorative frame.

Under a summery light blue sky with light clouds, a landscape with a broad path leading upwards, on which several figures are walking, including a woman on a mule. To the left is a small fork with a shepherd looking after his sheep grazing in a green meadow with several trees, some with the first autumn leaves. Atmospheric depiction in the style of the artist.

Annotation:
Marinus Adrianus was a pupil of his father J. H. Koekkoek. He was originally a painter and ran a store for painting utensils. In 1837 he went to Kleve in Germany to be apprenticed to his brother Barend Cornelis. His broad landscapes, especially summer scenes, are wide and open; the woods are less heavy than those in his brother's work. The small human and animal figures in his landscapes illustrate the Romantic idea: the grandeur of nature versus the insignificance of man. (14110212) (18)