Tre liggende får og et lam 1631 - 1685

Johann Heinrich Roos created this etching of three sheep and a lamb in the 17th century. It’s a pastoral scene, but one that seems to take place amidst the ruins of a classical civilization. Roos was a German artist working at a time when artists and intellectuals across Europe were fascinated by classical antiquity. The ruined architecture in the background is a clear visual cue pointing to this interest. But what does it mean to place farm animals in this setting? Perhaps Roos is commenting on the relationship between the idealised past and the realities of contemporary life. The rural setting suggests a longing for a simpler time, a common theme in European art of this period. To understand this work fully, we might delve into the art market of the 1600s, or the cultural significance of ruins in that time. The meaning of art is always closely tied to its social and institutional context.