Johan Heinrich Roos

JOHANN HEINRICH ROOS (Otterberg, 1631- Frankfurt, 1685).
"Pair of landscapes with cattle".
Oil on copper.
Possess frame circa 1830.
Measurements: 19 x 26 cm (x2); 27 x 33,5 cm (frames, x2).
These two oil paintings on copper by Johann Heinrich Roos represent pastoral scenes framed within a naturalistic and bucolic environment, distinctive characteristics of the artist. In both compositions, Roos shows a group of farm animals - oxen, sheep and goats - resting in a mountainous landscape. In the background, gently contoured hills and skies with scattered clouds give the scene depth and a serene atmosphere. A shepherd and a shepherdess, located in the background, are presented in a restful attitude, blending harmoniously with the environment.
The first painting shows an ox with a dark reddish coat in the foreground, with a relaxed but vigilant posture. Beside him, reclining sheep reinforce the sense of calm, while the female figure in the background, dressed in traditional garments, tends to her herd. The composition is balanced by a rustic palisade and a mountainous relief that frames the scene.
In the second oil painting, Roos maintains a similar arrangement, although with a more open composition and a more developed landscape. The protagonist is again an ox, accompanied by a sleeping sheep and a goat in the foreground. The background shows a wider perspective, with hills fading into the distance under a soft light.
These pastoral scenes represent Roos's longing for harmony between humans and animals with nature. Among the biblical, historical and genre scenes, Roos preferred subjects with animals: the nativity shepherds, Venus and Adonis. Roos was also one of the best German portraitists of his time. He painted princes, noble ladies and officials, but also the middle class of Frankfurt. Roos also worked from many individual drawings (Albertina, Vienna), mostly of domestic animals. He intensified the individuality of each species.
Johann Heinrich Roos was a German landscape painter and printmaker of the Baroque period. He trained with Guilliam du Gardijn, Cornelis de Bie and Barent Graat, but the landscape painters Nicolaes Berchem and Karel Dujardin exerted greater influence on him. In 1653 the Roos family returned to Germany, where Johann and his brother Theodor Roos worked together on a commission for a cloister in Mainz. Between 1654 and 1659, Johann worked for Ernst, landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels (son of Maurice, he lived from 1623 to 1693). In 1664 he was invited to paint at the court of Charles I Ludwig, Elector Palatine. Due to unsatisfactory working conditions, he moved with his family to Frankfurt in 1667 and was very successful, but lost everything in a fire in 1685.