Vaches s'abrevant

Constant Troyon, along with Rosa Bonheur, is regarded as one of the foremost animalier painters of 19th Century France. Although initially trained as a porcelain painter, by the late 1830's he had turned his attention to landscape painting. The turning point of his career came in 1847 when he visited the Lowlands where he was exposed to the great works of the 17th Century Dutch animal painters Albert Cuyp and Paulus Potter. Upon his return to France he concentrated solely on animal painting and the Salon of 1849 saw his first entry devoted to an animal subject. From this point on he found his niche and garnered much praise from both critics and collectors alike. He toured his paintings to international exhibitions in London, Manchester, Brussels, Vienna, Antwerp, and The Hague. His paintings of animals and particularly of cows rooted in their natural surroundings are characterized by perfect balance of color, line and composition.

This work has been authenticated by Michel Schulman.