Cuyp, Albert

Born October 1620 in Dordrecht; died there Nov. 15, 1691. Dutch painter.

Cuyp was influenced by Jan van Goyen and Salomon van Ruysdael. His work also shows the influence of Dutch Italianate landscape painting. Although Cuyp worked in many genres, he is best known for his river scenes, which included human figures and animals and were always executed in light golden tones. He usually depicted the mirrorlike surface of a river in the early-morning, mid-day, or evening sun. In Cuyp’s landscapes the sun shines behind the clouds, animals graze along the riverbank, and the silhouettes of sails or city buildings melt in a light haze. Examples of his work are Sunset on the River and The Listing Sailboat (both are in the Hermitage in Leningrad).