Cows and a Goat in a Landscape 1774

Curator: Ah, "Cows and a Goat in a Landscape" by Jean Pillement, circa 1774, housed right here at the Metropolitan Museum. I’m always struck by the tonal range he achieves in what appears to be primarily watercolor and ink. What jumps out at you? Editor: Eerily quiet, almost desolate. The coloring—that brooding wash—and the strange light make it feel less like a pastoral scene and more like a memory. What about the livestock? Were these types of drawings common? Curator: Livestock were indeed popular, and Pillement's treatment showcases the growing demand from urban patrons for idealized rustic scenes. This work highlights both artistic skill and the commodification of the pastoral idyll. It seems to have underpainting and a print underneath the drawing. Editor: So it's like a remix? Taking a print and building something unique on top? The composition really emphasizes the lone goat perched precariously. Like it is thinking of jumping from a rock into some unseen landscape beyond the cows. I love its rebellion. Curator: Interesting you use that word – “rebellion.” It seems there is an attempt at naturalism but also deliberate staging. The way the composition directs your gaze, almost forcing the juxtaposition of domesticated animals with the rugged terrain… Editor: Like an early advertisement, maybe? Make the countryside desirable? Except it's missing the frolicking milkmaid. Just an unsettling peace and that goat, forever on the verge of escape. Curator: Perhaps, the demand for these works reveals shifting class dynamics and the rise of consumerism. The ability to possess such idealized versions of rural life elevated social status, wouldn’t you agree? Editor: Possibly. The artist might not have seen it that way though, being close to materials. I find it hard to resist projecting my own narratives onto these tranquil landscapes, and that’s okay too. I'll walk away feeling I had a dialogue with the goat. Curator: And I will ponder the social and economic forces that birthed it! It all serves a purpose, even these fleeting emotions you refer to, or a goat at the verge of jumping to a strange landscape.