Jean Pillement ( Lyon 1728 - 1808 )
A shepherd and maids in a wooded landscape
A shepherd and maids in a wooded landscape
black chalk and stump on paper
9 x 11¾ in. (23 x 29.7 cm.)
signed and dated 1794
Pillement readily understood the English penchant for landscape and developed his original interpretation of the genre, derived from Nicolaes Berchem, Claude-Joseph Vernet, François Boucher, and a merging of observed nature and rococo fantasy. This sensitive chalk drawing from 1794 is typical of this blend, with the Berchem-esque theme of the shepherd who rests with his flock in the midday sun and converses with passing maids, set not in a naturalistic landscape but a timeless sylvian fantasy.