The Shepherd
1644
Medium
Etching on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
18.1 × 26.8 cm (7 3/16 × 10 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
22112
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Early in his career, Paulus Potter was strongly influenced by the etchings of Gerrit Claesz. Bleker (1625–1665), which featured pastoral scenes of rustic shepherds and domestic animals. Potter favored works of this nature himself, producing both prints and drawings. Here he examined the relationship between the shepherd and his sheep, showing the farmer calming his herd by playing a flute. The beasts, in return, remain near their caretaker, despite the vast countryside in which they can roam. Th...
About the Artist
Paulus Potter · 1625–1654
Paulus Potter (1625–1654) was a Dutch Golden Age painter whose short life — he died at just twenty-eight years of age — belied an artistic achievement of remarkable originality and influence. Born in Enkhuizen in 1625, Potter trained under his father, the painter Pieter Potter, and later in Amsterdam and Delft, where he absorbed the technical standards of the flourishing Dutch painting tradition. ...