This charming mid-19th-century oil painting by British artist Richard Hilder (1813-1852) depicts a landscape with two figures, a stream and a copse.Two figures, possibly a mother and daughter, stand by an ambling stream with a view of open pasture beyond. In the foreground, a rickety fence spans the waterway, probably to deter cattle from wandering along it and thus getting stuck where it narrows. It’s a picturesque scene rendered with consummate skill.Born in Holborn, London, Hilder’s artistic career flourished early and, by the age of 19, he was exhibiting at the Society of British Artists in London. It’s conceivable that he was introduced to the delights of landscape painting by his father, a broker, as this branch of art was becoming increasingly popular with middle-class patrons.Stylistically, his oeuvre draws upon the mastery of the 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painters, particularly in terms of composition, earthy tones, and extensive chiaroscuro. It’s broadly natu...