A Shepherdess

Paulus Moreelse (signed by artist), 1630

This shepherdess comes straight out of Arcadia, a fairytale realm celebrated in 17th-century Dutch poems, inhabited by beautiful shepherds and shepherdesses. These verses glorified simple country life. Artists, including Paulus Moreelse, drew inspiration from them. He painted several ‘Arcadian’ shepherds and shepherdesses, often semi-nude and adorned with flowers in their hair, like this rose-crowned shepherdess.

  • Artwork typepainting
  • Object numberSK-A-276
  • Dimensionssupport: height 81.5 cm x width 64.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsoil on canvas

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • A Shepherdess, known as ‘The beautiful Shepherdess’
    • A shepherdess, known as the beautiful shepherdess (former title)
    • A Shepherdess

  • Object type

  • Object number

    SK-A-276

  • Description

    Een herderin, bekend als 'De schone herderin'. Jonge vrouw als herderin met ontblote borsten in openvallend kleed, bloemen in het haar en herdersstaf.

  • Inscriptions / marks

    signature and date, top right, with ligated monogram: ‘PM / 1630’

  • Part of catalogue

Creation

  • Creation

    painter: Paulus Moreelse (signed by artist)

  • Dating

    1630

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    oil on canvas

  • Dimensions

    support: height 81.5 cm x width 64.5 cm

This work is about

  • Subject

Acquisition and rights

  • Acquisition

    purchase 1817

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    …; collection Bernardus Ocke (c. 1755-1816), Leiden, 1816;{Van Eynden/Van der Willigen 1816, I, p. 372.} his sale, Leiden (W. van Veen et al.), 21 April 1817, no. 82 (‘Le portrait d’une jeune beauté; habillé en bergère; et le tient d’une main la houlette, et porte l’autre à la bouche; sa tête est couronnée de fleurs […].’), fl. 2,150, to Van der Willigen, for the museum{RANH, ARM, IS, inv. 8, no. 15 (19 April 1817, no. 36); RANH, ARM, Kop, inv. 36, pp. 50-51 (23 April 1817); RANH, ARM, IS, inv. 8, no. 17 (6 May 1817, no. 869); RANH, ARM, Kop, inv. 36, p. 51 (9 May 1817); RANH, ARM, IS, inv. 8, no. 19 (20 May 1817, no. 962).}

Documentation

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