Pastoral Scene 1740

Giovanni Battista Piazzetta painted this large canvas, entitled 'Pastoral Scene', sometime in the first half of the 18th century. It presents a beguiling mix of aristocratic fantasy and genre realism. Piazzetta was working in Venice, and his style was a conscious rejection of the more flamboyant baroque art then popular elsewhere. In this picture, the artist creates meaning through a series of visual codes. Note the tension between the idealised figures of mother and child, with the watchful gaze of the older peasants. This is a society of hierarchies, and Piazzetta seems keen to remind us of this fact. The influence of Venice, a powerful mercantile state at this time, can be seen in the artist’s careful attention to the social interactions of the figures, and the dramatic chiaroscuro effects. Art historians can shed light on the cultural significance of this artwork by looking at contemporary Venetian society. By exploring historical archives, we can better understand the nuances of social class and the ways in which art both reflected and shaped the values of its time.