L’Abreuvoir

Animals drink in the shadow of a rocky overhang crowned by a ruined arch overgrown with vegetation. In the foreground a white horse harnessed to a plough, a rider, a standing woman and a loaded donkey have stopped before a sheet of water; a dog and a goat are at their feet while further out two oxen wade in the stream, and in a hollow to the left, beneath hanging linen, two more goats are visible. Painted in 1655, after the years Berchem spent in Italy (1650–1653), the canvas is a fine example of the Italianate pastorals that made his reputation — scenes in which peasants go about their daily tasks in happy intimacy with their animals. The painting is held in the Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris.