Artwork
Nymph and Shepherd in a Landscape
Nymph and Shepherd in a Landscape is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Cornelius van Poelenburgh. It dates from 1630 and is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.
About this work
Technique & Style
9 cm in width, a format that facilitates the intimate, finely rendered depiction of the nymph, shepherd, and surrounding pastoral scenery.
Cornelius van Poelenburgh's Nymph and Shepherd in a Landscape, created in 1630, is executed in oil paint on a copper support. This choice of metal plate was a deliberate technical decision by the artist, allowing for a high degree of detail and a smooth, luminous surface quality characteristic of his small-scale landscapes. The work measures 19 cm in height by 27.9 cm in width, a format that facilitates the intimate, finely rendered depiction of the nymph, shepherd, and surrounding pastoral scenery.
The painting is classified as a landscape genre piece, where the medium and support contribute to the precise handling of light and texture within the composition.
History & Provenance
Nymph and Shepherd in a Landscape, painted by Cornelius van Poelenburgh in 1630 on copper, is held in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Wikidata records the work's location as the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and also associates it with the Johnny Van Haeften Gallery, indicating prior or parallel commercial handling by that London dealership.
The painting measures 19 cm in height by 27.9 cm in width. No accession number or detailed exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Cornelius van Poelenburgh, a Dutch painter who worked in Rome during the early 1600s, completed the copper painting Nymph and Shepherd in a Landscape in 1630. The work belongs to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and exemplifies the small‑scale, Italianate scenes for which the artist is known.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a mythological encounter in an idealised countryside: a seated woman in an orange mantle rests on a rock, a robust shepherd leans nearby with a staff, and a plump, winged child hovers above them. The figures suggest a pastoral narrative drawn from classical lore, emphasizing harmony between humanity and nature.
Context
Poelenburgh’s oeuvre often features small figures set within expansive, idealised Italian scenery, a trend popular among Dutch artists who travelled to Italy. This painting aligns with that tradition, merging Northern attention to detail with the softened light and classical motifs of the Italianate landscape.
Artist & collection
Artist
Cornelis van Poelenburgh or Cornelis van Poelenburch (1594 – 12 August 1667), was a Dutch landscape painter and draughtsman.
