Artwork
Ewe Nursing Her Lamb
Ewe Nursing Her Lamb is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem. It dates from 1640 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:lower center in plate: Berchem. f; by later hand, upper right verso, in graphite: E745; by later hand, center verso, in graphite: B44 / c 24599
About this work
Overview
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, a prominent figure of the Dutch Golden Age, produced the etching Ewe Nursing Her Lamb in 1640. Executed as a print, the work presents a quiet rural scene in which a mother sheep tends to her two lambs amidst a grassy setting. The composition reflects Berchem’s interest in pastoral subjects and his skill in rendering texture through line.
Subject & Meaning
The image concentrates on the intimate interaction between the ewe and her offspring, emphasizing the dependence of the lambs on maternal care. By portraying the animals in a natural pose, the print underscores themes of nurture and the cycles of rural life, echoing the Renaissance tradition of close observation of nature for moral and allegorical purposes.
Technique & Style
Created with the etching process, Berchem employed a dense, energetic line work that suggests the softness of wool and the movement of the animals.
Created with the etching process, Berchem employed a dense, energetic line work that suggests the softness of wool and the movement of the animals. The sketchy, busy strokes give the fur a tactile quality, while the slight turn of the ewe’s head adds a sense of dynamism. The style merges the Dutch penchant for detailed observation with the idealized landscapes associated with the Italianate school.
History & Provenance
Berchem, part of the second generation of Dutch Italianate landscape painters, incorporated influences from his Italian studies into works that often blended classical motifs with everyday rural scenes. Ewe Nursing Her Lamb exemplifies this synthesis, pairing a simple agrarian subject with the compositional balance characteristic of his broader oeuvre. The print has been documented in several 17th‑century collections, confirming its circulation among contemporary collectors.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem (1 October 1620 – 18 February 1683) was a highly esteemed and prolific Dutch Golden Age painter of pastoral landscapes, populated with mythological or biblical figures, but also of a number of allegories and…
