Dutch Dairy Cow, Black and White Cattle Chromolithograph, 1863

This is an original antique chromolithograph, printed in color from several lithographic stones, from Victor Borie's Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine, published in Paris about 1863. The plate is lettered "RACE HOLLANDAISE, VACHE." (Dutch breed, cow). The cow stands in full profile facing the viewer's left, a long, angular dairy animal with a black body, a white blaze on the forehead, white along the belly and on the lower legs, and short horns curving forward. Her tail is swept forward across the flank, and a large pink udder shows beneath. She stands on a sandy yellow ground with a gray shadow at her feet.

Above the image, the plate is headed Animaux de la Ferme, Espèce Bovine (Farm Animals, Cattle), with the imprint "Lib Agricole de la Maison Rustique rue Jacob, 26, à Paris" at left (the agricultural bookshop of the Maison Rustique), and "par Victor Borie" (by Victor Borie) at right. Below the image, the artist's credit reads "Ol de Penne pinx.t" and the printer's line reads "Imp. Zanote rue des Boulangers, 13, Paris" (printed by Zanote, rue des Boulangers, Paris). The abbreviation stands for pinxit, painted it. The artist is the French animal painter Charles Olivier de Penne (1831 to 1897).

The black and white cattle of Holland were known as heavy milkers and were exported widely; they are the ancestors of the Holstein Friesian. Borie's album sets out the cattle of France alongside British and other foreign breeds, each animal shown in profile on a plain ground so that build, coat and horns can be compared. It was issued by the Librairie Agricole de la Maison Rustique, the Paris publisher of agricultural books.

The clear profile and warm palette suit a kitchen, study or country house, alone or with other plates from the series.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.