The Shepherdess
1948
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
wood engraving
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1948.11.297
Art Historical Context
Imre Reiner's *The Shepherdess* (1948) is a delicate wood engraving that captures the timeless pastoral motif of a shepherdess, evoking serenity and connection to nature. Reiner, a Hungarian-born renowned for his precise printmaking, crafted this work in the post-World War II era, a time when artists often turned to introspective, bucolic themes amid global upheaval. Housed in the National Gallery of Art's Rosen Collection—a treasure trove of over 15,000 prints assembled by philanthropist Lessing J. Rosenwald—this piece exemplifies mid-20th-century excellence in graphic arts. Wood engraving, ...
About the Artist
Imre Reiner
**Imre Reiner** (1900–1987) was a Hungarian-born Swiss painter, graphic artist, typographer, and master illustrator whose multifaceted career bridged sculpture, experimental typography, and exquisite wood engravings. Born on August 18, 1900, in Versec (now Vršac, Serbia) to a Jewish family—his father a sculptor and stone carver who apprenticed him young—Reiner began formal studies at age 15 in scu...