Bei Ruinen ein Hirte zu Pferde in Unterhaltung mit einem zu Fuße, vorne eine Hirtin mit einigem Vieh 

Bernhard Heinrich Thier rendered this scene with pen and brown ink, portraying shepherds amidst the ruins. The iconography here speaks of a yearning for Arcadia, an idealized vision of pastoral life that has haunted the European imagination since antiquity. But note, it’s an Arcadia tinged with melancholy. See how the crumbling architecture looms over the figures, a memento mori that whispers of time's relentless march. This motif of ruins set against pastoral life echoes through art history, from Poussin's classical landscapes to later Romantic paintings. It reflects a collective consciousness grappling with loss and the transience of human achievement. The shepherd, a symbol of simplicity and harmony with nature, contrasts sharply with the decaying stones, creating a tension that engages our subconscious awareness of mortality. This powerful juxtaposition evokes a deep emotional response. The symbol of ruins has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.