Charles Emile Jacque is best known for his depiction of sheep set in a landscape. However, in Troupeau de Vaches à l'Abreuvoir his skill at depicting cows is equal to that of his fellow Barbizon artist, Constant Troyon. Jacque has brilliantly captured the individual characteristics - pose, movement and breed of each cow, as well as evoking the atmosphere of a hot summer day. The anonymous shepherdess who guides her herd is reminiscent of Millet, who was Jacque's friend and inspiration. The catalogue of Jacque's studio sale at Galerie Georges Petit perfectly expresses the mood of Troupeau de Vaches à l'Abreuvoir.

It is a summer day: the animals which, thirsty
from the warm air, felt that the pond was close
and they rushed towards it. In the middle of the
pond, with her legs half-covered by the water, a
white cow drinks with a full muzzle; near to this
animal another black and white cow holds up her
head and inhales the humid steam which refreshes
her nostrils; behind that a brown cow raises its
head, and moos because she cannot reach the narrow
water place while on its croup, another tired cow
lazily rests her head. On the left, a cow turns
round as if calling one of her compagnions (with
their swollen, pregnant flanks) and slowly hastes,
followed by the guardian whose outline can be seen
in the shadows. In the foreground, the dog attends
and surveys this joyful play, while in the background
on the right, the trees with their ancestral trunks
extend their branches (covered with miser foliage)
towards the blue sky.
(catalogue Georges Petit, 1894)

This painting has been authenticated by J. Chambon, and we are grateful to him for his assistance in preparing this catalogue entry.