“Summer in the Pasture (Farmer’s Wife with Cow)”
(Sommertag auf der Weide (Bäuerin mit Kuh))
Paul Junghanns (German, 1876-1958)
Oil on Canvas
Signed verso
36 ¼ x 28 inches (43 ¾ x 35 ¼)
 
This is a superb painting. On Junghann's finest pieces, such as this one, base colors are used, in the case of the cow, it's a vermillion undercoat, and then myriad colors are applied building up to what your eyes perceive as more uniform and naturalistic colors though it's rather a trompe l'oeil in that it's many different colors and many different layers. You can see the beautiful brush strokes very clearly.
 
Julius Paul Junghanns was a highly revered animalier portrait painter, particularly that of cattle and horses though he also painted the portraits of his three children with their family dogs. 
 
The style he develops is very close to the Barbizoniers. Junghanns much preferred painting in plein air and in his compositions, he enhances the very close relationship between humans and animals; a bond characterized by very intense emotions and sensations that influenced his real and artistic life. Cattle were considered a very important resource and a sure parameter for evaluating the wealth of rural society. Families raised livestock with care and dedication because it was the main source of livelihood.
 
Junghanns atten