Around Midsummer’s Eve in 1844, Lundbye was staying with his brother Theodor on the Kragerupgård manor near Kragerup. From here he travelled on to Kalundborg, Vallekilde and Vognserup, where he remained until September. During the summer, Lundbye made many studies of cows. In his diary, he wrote about the considerations he made when painting nature and about the qualities of the study and Høyen’s opinion of this, and the joy connected with becoming more sure of oneself in one’s craft and gaining knowledge of nature in general.

On 28 July, 1844 Lundbye writes in his diary (in Danish): “I have to the best of my abilities studied the animals, but it is a difficult preoccupation since the models are so unruly, and I can hardly do anything without anyone else’s help. I must, when I paint them, have someone to hold the model and ideally turn and adjust it to preserve the initial position. The preciseness that is demanded of a depiction of the human body, cannot be achieved obviously. It is difficult to hold the animal painter accountable, an advantage, which I in no way intend to make use of, since the truth is paramount and contains the strangely convincing aspect about it, so that one feels: yes, this is what it is like in nature.”

On 28 August, 1844 he continues: “Do I have reason to rejoice? And what is the reason? Yes, since I have gotten to know the cow much better than before. That does not seem like much, some might say, and I might have said so myself, but there is more than meets the eye in this achievement, since it signifies that I have left the childish method of study behind, or more precisely, I have learned to study. In this way, delicate features have appeared to me, which I had no idea of, a sense of calm and order has settled in my mind in regards to my work and satisfaction in my contemplations.” (“J. Th. Lundbye. Dagbogsoptegnelser. I udtog ved Karl Madsen”, 1918 pp. 34–37).

The National Gallery of Denmark owns a study by J. Th. Lundbye of a bull, dated Kragerup June 1844, 23×31 cm (KMS2037).