White Cow

Paul Sérusier

Oil on canvas

National Museum in Warsaw

A black-spotted white cow grazes beneath a flowering tree in full spring bloom, its blossoms rendered as thick, luminous clouds against a saturated blue sky. Paul Sérusier, a founder of the Nabis group alongside Bonnard and Denis, painted this pastoral scene with the flattened forms and bold, decorative color blocks that defined his Synthetist style, inspired by his time with Gauguin in Pont-Aven. The simplified contours and intense, non-naturalistic palette transform an ordinary farmyard moment into something almost symbolic and dreamlike. This cheerful, richly textured landscape would bring a warm, painterly presence to any room, evoking the quiet charm of the French countryside.