Reclining Shepherd with a Sack c. 1763

"Reclining Shepherd with a Sack" is an etching by Francesco Londonio, an Italian artist active in the mid-18th century. The print depicts a shepherd resting on the ground, his head resting on a sack, with a gun lying nearby. A cow lies down behind him, with a dog and a horse nearby. The composition is typical of Londonio's work, with a focus on the natural world and the details of daily life. The use of etching, a technique in which lines are scratched onto a metal plate to create an image, produces a sense of depth and realism in the print. This artwork is an example of a genre scene, a popular subject in 18th-century art that depicted everyday life.