Pastoral Scene with a Shepherdess Milking a Goat
Nicolaes Berchem·c. 1665–c. 1670
Historical Context
Nicolaes Berchem's pastoral scene with a shepherdess milking a goat is characteristic of the Italianate landscapes that made him one of the most popular and collected Dutch painters of the 17th century. Berchem traveled to Italy in the late 1640s and spent his career producing sun-drenched southern landscapes populated by shepherds and livestock. His prolific output and high prices reflected Dutch collectors' appetite for idealized Mediterranean scenery.
Technical Analysis
Berchem's oil-on-panel technique combines precise animal painting with warm, golden light effects learned from his study of Italian scenery. The careful observation of the goat and shepherdess is set within a broadly painted landscape bathed in the amber afternoon light characteristic of his mature style.
Provenance
E. Arents, Brussels, by 1795; sold on August 12, 1795, to Gerard van der Pot of Groeneveld, for 336 guilders [according to Hofstede de Groot 1926]; Gerard van der Pot of Groeneveld, Rotterdam (died 1807); his estate sale, Gebroeders Van Ryp, Rotterdam, June 6, 1808, lot 13, to Nortwijck, for 1,160 florins [according to annotated copy of sale catalogue in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie, The Hague; copy in curatorial file]. Charles Brind, London, by 1834 [according to Smith 1834, no. 286]; sold his estate sale, Christie’s, London, May 10 -12, 1849, lot 52, to Norton, for 91 guineas [according to annotated copy of the sale catalogue at the R.K.D, The Hague; copy in curatorial file]. George Field, Ashurst Park, Kent, by 1856 until at least 1875 [exhibited with his collection at Marlborough House, 1856, according to Waagen 1857]. Sold Sotheby’s, London, June 21, 1961, lot 205, to Terry Engell, for £500 [buyer and price in marked copy of sale catalogue in Ryerson Library; copy in curatorial file]. Gooden and Fox, Ltd., London, 1961; sold to Christian B. Peper, Saint Louis (died 2011); consigned by his estate to Christie’s, New York; sold Christie’s, New York, January 25, 2012, lot no. 46, to Scott Canel in consultation with two other members of the Old Masters Society; given to the Art Institute, 2012.
