Shepherd with Sheep

Cornelis Albert van Assendelft was born in Middelburg, Zeeland, in 1870 and spent his career moving between Dutch cities — The Hague, Bemmel, Groesbeek, Amstelveen — before settling in Amsterdam in 1932, where he died in 1945. He is closely associated with the 'Veeristen,' an informal group of painters who lived and worked in the historic Zeeland town of Veere. His subjects were predominantly rural: farm laborers, herders, and the heavy work of the land, rendered with a color approach — individual stripes and dots of pigment placed side by side — that reflects the direct influence of Van Gogh. The Rijksmuseum acquired this painting in 1938.