Landscape with Shepherds and Flock of Sheep 

Jean-Honoré Fragonard made this landscape painting with oil paint on canvas, using traditional techniques to capture an idyllic scene. Fragonard’s painting utilizes oil paint and the texture of the brushstrokes to give life and form to the landscape and figures. The impasto of the paint adds depth to the rendering of the sheep and foliage, while the artist’s light brushstrokes suggest movement in the landscape. The composition alludes to the pastoral tradition, evoking a sense of naturalness. However, the painting’s idealization of rural life contrasts sharply with the realities of agricultural labor in 18th-century France. Fragonard used materials and processes embedded in the traditions of fine art, and the final product invites us to consider the social and economic context in which such images were produced. It's important to acknowledge how the painting romanticizes labor, thereby obscuring the realities of rural life, and challenging the distinctions between art and craft.