Liggende koe in een landschap 1666

Cornelis Saftleven made this drawing of a cow in a landscape using pen and brown ink, with grey wash, during the Dutch Golden Age. Pictures of animals in the 17th-century Netherlands reflected the economic importance of livestock. Cows were not just farm animals, they were symbols of prosperity and national identity, especially in a nation that had recently won independence from Spanish rule. Saftleven was known for his peasant genre scenes and animal studies, appealing to a growing urban middle class interested in rural life. His detailed rendering of the cow captures its size and texture, giving it a kind of individual presence. To understand this drawing fully, we need to consider the economic and social values attached to animal imagery at that time. Examining agricultural records, market reports, and other visual representations of rural life helps us appreciate how art and society were deeply intertwined.