Liggende geit met lam

About this artwork

verzamelaarsmerk, verso, gestempeld: Lugt 240

Art Historical Context

Behold the delicate etching *Liggende geit lam* (Recumbent Goat with Lamb by Dutch artist Marcus de Bye, between 1728 and 1761. This print, measuring just 117 mm high by 147 mm wide, captures a pastoral moment: a mother goat reclining protectively with her lamb. De Bye, active in the 18th Netherlands during the waning years of the Dutch Golden Age, specialized in such animal studies, reflecting the era's fascination with nature's quiet nobility and the countryside's serene beauty. Etching, de Bye's chosen medium, was a prized intaglio technique that allowed artists to achieve intricate lines and textures—perfect for rendering the soft curves of the goat's woolly flank and the lamb's gentle form. These small-scale prints were highly collectible, often adorning the cabinets of art lovers and scholars, bridging fine art with reproducible elegance. Adding to its allure, the verso bears a collector's mark stamped Lugt 240, linking it to a distinguished provenance within European print connoisseurship. This modest yet masterful work invites us to pause and appreciate the harmony of motherhood in the animal world, a timeless theme etched with 18th-century precision.