Goatherd 1862

Charles François Daubigny created this print, titled "Goatherd," using etching. Consider the 19th century, where rural life was often romanticized, yet the realities for those working the land were harsh. Daubigny, who was from a family of painters, found success in landscape art at the Salon. "Goatherd" offers a glimpse into the pastoral, yet it's rendered with a starkness that hints at the unvarnished truth of labor. Where is the shepherdess? Note the solitary figure of the goatherd. Is he a symbol of man's dominion over nature, or a figure dwarfed by the forest's immensity? How does Daubigny’s etching challenge or reinforce the period’s prevailing notions of gender and labor? It invites us to reflect on the stories we tell about work, nature, and the human place within it.