Barend Cornelis Koekkoek

Signed and dated ‘B.C. Koekkoek ft. 1852’ (lower left on the fence); and again signed and inscribed ‘Deze schilderij, voorstellende / een Landschap met een water / molen bij avond zonlicht, is / geschilderd in het jaar 1852 / door den Ondergetekende / B.C. Koekkoek’ (on a label attached to the reverse, with the artist’s stamp)

55.9 by 72 cm  

M.F. de Vries, Amsterdam;

With Mensing & Zoon, Amsterdam, 1943;

Sale, Frederik Muller, Amsterdam, 19 October 1943, lot 256;

Acquired by the German Reich;

Repatriated to The Netherlands, after 8 May 1945;

Restituted by the above from the NK Collection (Nederlands Kunstbezit-collectie) to the heir of the first owner, RC 1.18, 18 May 2004;

Thence by descent to the present owner.

Arnhem, Gemeentemuseum, as ‘Rijngezicht’, inventory nr. SN.K.9 (910) (extended loan) (according to a label attached to the reverse);

Leiden, Museum de Lakenhal, Tussen Romantiek en Haagse school, 23 December 1953 – 25 January 1954, no. 20, as ‘Gelders Landschap’;

Bolsward, Stadhuis Bolsward; Schiedam, Schiedams Museum, Roem der Romantiek, 20 June – 26 August 1961, no. 33.  

Kleve, Städtisches Museum Haus Koekkoek, Ausstellung B.C. Koekkoek, 24 June – 30 September 1962, no. 74;

Enschede, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, 2004-2025, as ‘Landschap met molen’ (extended loan).

Friedrich Gorissen, B.C. Koekkoek; Werkverzeichnis der Gemälde, Düsseldorf, 1962, no. 52/60, n.p.; 

Exh. Cat., Dordrecht, Dordrechts Museum, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek (1803-1862): Prins der Landschapschilders, 18 May – 31 August 1997, no. 50, p. 127;  

Annelies Kool and Eelke Muller, De vergeelde briefkaart, Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant, 16 July 2004.

Landscape with Watermill and Cattle Herders by Barend Cornelis Koekkoek exemplifies the artist’s celebrated mastery of the Romantic landscape. With its crystalline light and exquisite compositional balance, this painting invites the viewer to step into the landscape. In this idyllic fairytale-like scene, a sandy path draws the eye into the distance toward a faraway town, while in the foreground, cattle and their herders stand near a gentle stream and a small watermill. Nestled within a lush green forest a watermill provides movement and the small human figures lend a sense of scale to the grandeur of nature that surrounds them. The grazing and idle cattle, stirring up dust beneath their hooves, demonstrate Koekkoek’s remarkable attention to detail. Every leaf, ripple, stone, and cloud is rendered with meticulous precision, yet the whole radiates a serene harmony. 

Painted in 1852, the work belongs to the mature period of Koekkoek’s career, when his technical mastery and atmospheric subtlety reached their peak. Having evolved from his earlier landscape works into the magnificent Romantic landscapes for which he is praised, Koekkoek achieved an ideal balance between the reality of nature and his romanticized outlook. The tension between light and shadow, the delicate mist enveloping the distant horizon, and the careful orchestration of diagonal lines are all evident of his mature style.

Koekkoek’s art was widely admired during his lifetime. Revered as the “Prins der Landschapsschilders,” he attracted an international clientele that included King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, and King Willem II of the Netherlands, who owned no fewer than eleven of his paintings. Works such as Landscape with Watermill and Cattle Herders continue to captivate collectors today for their technical brilliance and idyllic atmosphere. This painting stands as a lasting testament to Koekkoek’s Romantic vision of nature for it being majestic, serene, and intensely romantic.