Cattle crossing a ford in a valley with travellers on a sandy track nearby

Eugène Verboeckhoven is one of the most celebrated animal artists of the 19th Century. Influenced by the work of Paulus Potter and Albert Cuyp, he became a peintre animalier in the 17th-century tradition. His work shows fine detail and his palette was rich and luminous.
In 1827 Verboeckhoven settled in Brussels. He established a studio, where he taught numerous artists, including Louis Pierre Verwee, the landscape painter of the present lot. His expertise was in demand from the many students who attended his studio in Brussels. Contemporary artists of the period also sought to use his skills. He collaborated with Johann Bernard Klombeck, Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Frederik Marinus Kruseman, De Jongh, De Noter and Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek. Like in the present lot Eugène Verboekchoven provided the staffage to their landscapes.