400th anniversary of the birth of Aelbert Cuyp, Dutch landscape painter

Aelbert Jacobsz Cuyp (20 October 1620–15 November 1691) was one of the leading Dutch Golden Age painters, producing mainly landscapes. He was the most famous of a family of painters – his grandfather and uncle worked in stained glass and his father was a portraitist. He is especially known for his large views of Dutch riverside scenes in a golden early morning or late afternoon light.

Aelbert was trained as a landscape artist and his development can be roughly sketched in three phases based on the painters who most influenced him during that time and the subsequent artistic characteristics that are apparent in his paintings. Generally, Cuyp learned tone from the exceptionally prolific Jan van Goven, light from Jan Both and form from his father, Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp.