Artwork
Landscape with shepherds and a flock
Landscape with shepherds and a flock is an oil painting by the Flemish Baroque painting artist David Teniers the Younger. It dates from 1645 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
A farmhouse is also depicted within the scene, anchoring the human and animal activity within a domesticated rural setting.
The painting portrays a pastoral landscape centered around agricultural and rural life. The composition features a shepherd tending to a herd of animals, specifically sheep and a cow. A farmhouse is also depicted within the scene, anchoring the human and animal activity within a domesticated rural setting.
The work represents the everyday bucolic existence of the Flemish countryside, emphasizing the relationship between the figures, their livestock, and the inhabited landscape.
Technique & Style
An oil painting on canvas created in 1645, depicting a pastoral scene with sheep, cows, and a shepherd beside a farmhouse. Executed in the Flemish Baroque tradition, the work showcases meticulous handling of light and atmospheric depth characteristic of David Teniers the Younger's mature style. The composition balances naturalistic detail with an idealized landscape, reflecting the genre's emphasis on rural harmony.
Measuring 51 cm in height and 80 cm in width, the canvas remains well-preserved, retaining its original pigment saturation and structural integrity without significant craquelure or pigment loss.
The painting's surface demonstrates careful brushwork, with layered glazes enhancing the textural contrast between the sky, terrain, and foliage. These formal qualities align with Teniers' signature approach to genre scenes, where meticulous detail coexists with a cohesive compositional rhythm. Its stylistic coherence and technical execution underscore its significance within 17th-century Flemish landscape painting, particularly in the depiction of rural life.
History & Provenance
David Teniers the Younger created Landscape with shepherds and a flock in 1645 while working in Flanders. The oil on canvas painting subsequently passed through private hands, having been owned by Simon René de Baudouin. It ultimately entered the collection of the Hermitage Museum, where it resides today.
The painting Landscape with shepherds and a flock is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum. While the specific inventory or accession number is not provided in the available records, the work is identified as part of the museum's holdings of landscape paintings. The piece, created in 1645, depicts shepherds, a flock of sheep, cows, and a farmhouse.
Historical records indicate the work was previously owned by Simon René de Baudouin before entering the Hermitage's collection. No specific exhibition history is documented in the provided sources.
Overview
David Teniers the Younger’s oil painting, completed in 1645, presents a tranquil rural tableau titled Landscape with Shepherds and a Flock. The work captures a modest countryside setting where livestock, modest dwellings, and figures coexist under a partly clouded sky. Currently, the canvas is part of the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.
Artist & collection
Artist
David Teniers the Younger or David Teniers II was a Flemish Baroque painter, printmaker, and artist.
