Cornelius van Leemputten (1841-1902) Belgian/Netherlands, Oil on Canvas. Depicting a scene with sheep walking out of a barn, with a faint shepherd behind them. Signed C Van leemputten in the lower right. The piece and frame are in good condition overall excluding a couple sections of discoloration likely due to age. Cornelius Van leemputten was a Belgian painter known for his scenes of farmyard animals and landscapes with shepherds and grazing sheep. His father was originally a farmer but moved to Brussels in 1852 to become a painting restorer as he had an interest and some practice in art. Cornelius and his younger brother Frans Van Leemputten were encouraged by their father to practice art. With the exception of a few lessons from his father, Cornelius was principally self-taught through the making of studies from nature in areas such as Brabant and the Campine region in north-eastern Belgium. Van Leemputten participated in several international exhibitions and received gold medals in Ghent in 1883, Edinburgh in 1886, Port Adelaide in 1887 and in Berlin in 1896. He was awarded silver medals in Nice, Melbourne, Barcelona and Cologne. He was made a Knight of the Order of Leopold by the Belgian king in 1895. Leemputten was influenced by the Romantic scenes with cattle by the Belgian artist Eugène Joseph Verboeckhoven, which he reinterpreted in a more realistic manner. His compositions often depict, with small variations, the Belgian flat countryside with low horizon, vegetation and water surfaces in the foreground and miniature figures. Overall Size: 11 x 14 in. Sight Size: 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 in. #2007