Constant Troyon

Constant Troyon painted cattle better than almost anyone of his time. His cows and oxen move through Normandy pastures and along riverbanks in real weather, painted with broad brushwork and deep, rich colour. Herds drinking at a pond or heading home at dusk are his classic subjects.

He was born in Sèvres, where his family worked for the porcelain factory, and he began as a porcelain decorator. He turned to landscape and joined the circle of Barbizon painters around Théodore Rousseau and Jules Dupré. A visit to the Netherlands in 1846 pushed him toward the animal subjects that made him famous. Napoleon III bought his work, and he won several Salon medals.

His paintings hang in the Louvre, the Wallace Collection and the Metropolitan Museum. Look at how the light falls across the animals’ backs, it does much of the work.