The Small Dort by Aelbert Cuyp (1650-2)

This painting by Aelbert Cuyp is a twin of The Large Dort & also in the National Gallery’s collection.

As with my post on The Large Dort, we see the quintessentials of the Dutch Baroque painter - pastoral landscapes, animals, and a view of Dordrecht. 

The National Gallery though argues that there are some differences which suggest this particular painting depicts the end of the day:

The mood is more soporific than in the larger version, however. The sky seems slightly less luminous, the sun is lower and more of the painting is in shadow. Three of the cows seem to be on the verge of sleep, while the herdsman and the dog have already dropped off. The day’s labour, it seems, is over. But a similar sense of ease and contentment prevails. And Cuyp has used the same subtle sequence of pictorial planes to knit together the composition, from the dark foreground of weeds and brambles to the light-dappled cows, the shadowy cottages and windmills, then Dordrecht itself, bathed in the evening light.

For me, I prefer The Large Dort. 👌