A Pasture in Normandy

Constant Troyon 1810 - 1865

Summary

Troyon has taken as his subject a simple view of cows in a pasture. In the right foreground, a rustic wooden bridge, barred by a gate, allows access to the field across a deep ditch filled with weeds. The fence around the meadow ends at the ditch, which forms an effective natural barrier for the animals. A building is just visible through the trees, left. Three cows are in the centre of the field, with a fourth grazing in the background. The field is edged by a row of tall trees. There is a bright blue, clouded sky. Troyon began his artistic training painting porcelain in Sèvres, a meticulous form of painting in oils that influenced his later painting style on canvas. Following a trip to Holland in 1847, he began to paint animals, following closely in the tradition of animal painting popular in that country since the seventeenth century and highly developed under Paulus Potter and Aelbert Cuyp. Troyon worked in this genre within a naturalistic landscape format influenced by his friendship with Théodore Rousseau and Jules Dupré. He exhibited annually at the Salon from 1833-59.