Oak Forest, 1856 Barend Cornelius Koekkoek (1803-1862)

We create our paintings with museum quality and covering the highest academic standards. Once we get your order, it will be entirely hand-painted with oil on canvas. All the materials we use are the highest level, being totally artist graded painting materials and linen canvas.

We will add 1.6" (4 cm) additional blank canvas all over the painting for stretching.

High quality and detailing in every inch are time consuming. The reproduction of Barend Cornelius Koekkoek also needs time to dry in order to be completely ready for shipping, as this is crucial to not be damaged during transportation.
Based on the size, level of detail and complexity we need 8-9 weeks to complete the process.

In case the delivery date needs to be extended in time, or we are overloaded with requests, there will be an email sent to you sharing the new timelines of production and delivery.

TOPofART wants to remind you to keep patient, in order to get you the highest quality, being our mission to fulfill your expectations.

We not stretch and frame our oil paintings due to several reasons:
Painting reproduction is a high quality expensive product, which we cannot risk to damage by sending it being stretched.
Also, there are postal restrictions, regarding the size of the shipment.
Additionally, due to the dimensions of the stretched canvas, the shipment price may exceed the price of the product itself.

You can stretch and frame your painting in your local frame-shop.

Once the painting Oak Forest is ready and dry, it will be shipped to your delivery address. The canvas will be rolled-up in a secure postal tube.

We offer free shipping as well as paid express transportation services.

After adding your artwork to the shopping cart, you will be able to check the delivery price using the Estimate Shipping and Tax tool.

The paintings we create are only of museum quality. Our academy graduated artists will never allow a compromise in the quality and detail of the ordered painting. TOPofART do not work, and will never allow ourselves to work with low quality studios from the Far East. We are based in Europe, and quality is our highest priority.

Koekkoek's "Oak Forest, 1856" practically hums with the harmony of nature's quiet grandeur and man’s humble intrusion into it. Look at those trees - gnarled, ancient, their branches twisting into the sky like bony fingers that have seen centuries pass. The oak trunks are dense and muscular, giving the forest a weighty, almost mythic presence. It's as if they’ve always been there, long before the figures at the bottom of the canvas even thought to make an appearance.

Speaking of figures, they’re so small, so insignificant against the backdrop of nature’s towering giants. There’s a few travelers, soldiers perhaps, crossing a small stream in the foreground. You can just make out their red jackets, which is one of the few bold flashes of color in the scene. They seem like they’re merely passing through - transient, almost like they’re borrowing the space but can’t ever own it. Their presence doesn’t distract from the real stars of the show: the trees. And let’s not forget the animals - a few cows lazily grazing in the distance, almost hidden in the shadow of the mighty oaks.

The palette Koekkoek uses is rich with earthy tones - lush greens, deep browns, and the soft light of a sun either rising or setting. The sky? It’s a patchwork of soft clouds, slightly agitated but not menacing. There’s a peacefulness here, even though you sense a storm might be lurking somewhere far off.

The composition is masterful - Koekkoek leads your eye along the curve of the river, through the foliage, to the central drama of the figures, but it always returns to the trees, reminding you that they are the true keepers of this world. The brushstrokes are controlled but not rigid - everything feels soft and organic. There's a certain romanticism in how nature is painted here, like it holds some sacred power humans will never quite understand.