Bei Ruinen links Hirte und Hirtin zu Pferde, trinkender Hirte zu Fuß an einem Fluß 

Nicolaes Berchem made this drawing of shepherds and their flock, with charcoal and white heightening, sometime in the mid-17th century. Berchem spent his career in Haarlem and Amsterdam, but like many Dutch artists of the period, he traveled to Italy and absorbed the aesthetic of the Italian countryside. By the 17th century, the image of shepherds tending flocks in an idyllic landscape had become a well-worn trope in European art. It offered a potent contrast to the rapid urbanisation then underway in the Netherlands. The image of shepherds and shepherdesses allowed city dwellers to imagine a more simple existence, free from the complexities of modern life. What makes Berchem’s image worth a second look is the ruined building in the background. This adds a certain melancholy to the scene, reminding us that even the simplest life is subject to the ravages of time. To better understand this artwork, we could research the history of pastoral imagery and explore the social and economic conditions that led to the rise of landscape painting in the Netherlands.