Koeien in een weiland bij enkele knotwilgen 1848 - 1888

Anton Mauve made this drawing of cows in a meadow with pollard willows. The immediacy of the charcoal captures a fleeting moment in the Dutch landscape, and the artist’s connection to rural life. Looking closely, we can see how Mauve used the charcoal to create varied textures – soft, smudged tones for the cloudy sky, and short, sharp lines to define the forms of the trees and cattle. The looseness of the drawing conveys the inherent qualities of the charcoal, the way it crumbles and spreads across the page, a world away from the smooth finish of academic paintings. Mauve comes from a tradition of landscape painting, but it can be argued that his artistic approach had a connection to craft as it emphasizes the importance of natural materials and manual skill. The drawing has a sense of authenticity, which aligns with a wider interest in naturalism, the anti-industrial movement that was gaining momentum at the time. In this way, Mauve elevates the everyday, reminding us of the value of a slower, more deliberate way of seeing.