Herd of Cattle Coming from a Stable 1730

Curator: This is Marco Ricci's print, "Herd of Cattle Coming from a Stable," now held in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It has such a pastoral mood, doesn't it? The composition is dominated by horizontals—land, water, clouds—lending it a serene, almost timeless quality. Curator: Observe how Ricci employs hatching to create tonal variations, which is very effective despite the absence of color. It is all about line and form. Editor: The cattle are symbols of prosperity, surely, but the figures at the water's edge evoke a simpler, more bucolic existence. It’s a gentle reminder of nature's rhythms. Curator: And the stable, however humble, provides a structural anchor, counterbalancing the airy expanse of the sky. Editor: For me, the print evokes a longing for a world in harmony—a symbolic return to innocence. It's quite compelling, isn't it? Curator: Indeed, the artist uses pure form to evoke a feeling, a feat worth contemplating.