Shepherds with Cattle in a Landscape c. 1795

Curator: Here we have Abraham van Strij’s "Shepherds with Cattle in a Landscape," a drawing rendered in pen and ink around 1795. The artwork belongs to the collection of the Städel Museum. Editor: The landscape gives me an immediate sense of pastoral calm. There is something so pleasant in the gentle curving of the trees, and their contrast to the very distant jagged mountains. Curator: Indeed. Consider the context: the late 18th century, a period where the Romantic movement began to emerge. We observe in van Strij’s work a distinct idealization of rural life. His aesthetic clearly yearns for the pre-industrial innocence and agrarian simplicity so far removed from city centres. Editor: I agree, though looking closely at the materials, it also speaks to a type of careful craftsmanship that romanticises a simple and efficient technique to make an accessible medium into high art. Look at the fine lines he uses; each seems purposefully placed to construct the texture of the tree bark or the animals’ hides. Curator: That tension is what makes this piece compelling! The labor isn't just on the page but embedded in the figures depicted, who are both guardians of the cattle, and subjects under the watchful gaze of the landed gentry. It's crucial to think about class and the role of labor at this historical moment. The idyllic facade papers over deeply rooted social inequalities. Editor: Perhaps the appeal for the drawing, though, resides precisely in this careful construction of this idyllic scene? It’s easy to get lost in the details; each tree and cloud feels rendered with distinct care, reflecting an appreciation for the natural world accessible through reproducible work. Curator: I think it is a window into the anxieties and desires of a transforming society—one where tradition and modernity were clashing. This landscape reflects that tension perfectly. Editor: It does lead one to think about how art materials help transmit these societal narratives over long stretches of history. Curator: Exactly. Understanding these narratives will, I hope, challenge people’s interpretation of idealized landscape as simple genre painting. Editor: Agreed, and maybe also deepen the viewer’s engagement with material processes involved with creation.