"This eminent gentleman and Mr Merdle,
seated diverse ways and with ruminating aspects on a yellow ottoman
in the light of the fire, holding no verbal communication with each
other, bore a strong general resemblance to the two cows in the
Cuyp picture over against them."

I think Dickens is name dropping here. I found in Art History a couple obscure Dutch painters by this name, but
there were no farm pictures attributed to them.