Herder en herderin als liefdespaar met geiten 1611 - 1650

This undated print, ‘Herder en herderin als liefdespaar met geiten’, of ‘Shepherd and shepherdess as a couple in love with goats’, was created by an anonymous artist. Its dense composition and high contrast suggests a world of pastoral romance. Look at how the artist balances light and shadow to direct our eye through the scene. The texture created by the engraving technique lends a tactile quality to the figures and the animals, blurring the lines between the real and idealised. Semiotically, this work speaks to the cultural codes of its time, where rural life was often romanticised. The animals are rendered in varying states of rest and alertness, acting almost as witnesses to the exchange between the couple. This arrangement questions traditional notions of space and intimacy. Consider how this compact composition challenges fixed meanings by blending the boundaries between the figures and their environment. The density of lines and shapes invites us to reinterpret this pastoral setting and question the values it represents.