Landschap met herderin met geiten bij een boompartij aan een beek 1829 - 1879

Ildephonse Stocquart created this etching of a landscape with a herderin, or shepherdess, with goats by a copse of trees next to a stream in the 19th century. Etchings like these allowed for the mass reproduction of images, making art more accessible across class lines. This work taps into an artistic trope common at the time, in which idealized pastoral scenes served as a retreat from the realities of industrialization and urbanization. Yet, who gets to retreat, and who is relegated to the role of providing that retreat? The shepherdess and her goats are dwarfed by the landscape, as though they are merely another component of the scenery. It leaves me wondering about her personal narrative, her everyday struggles, and whether she yearns for a life beyond this landscape. It prompts me to question how class and gender intersect to shape individual experiences within historical and social contexts.