Eine Herde von Rindern und Schafen kommt einen Bergpfad herab zur Tränke 

Johann Heinrich Roos created this drawing of a herd of cattle and sheep coming down a mountain path to drink, sometime in the 17th century. Roos, who lived from 1631 to 1685, came of age during the baroque era, a time when the representation of nature became increasingly important in art. Roos's composition uses a monochrome wash to explore themes of labor and rural life. The animals are depicted in a moment of vulnerability as they seek refreshment, their thirst contrasting with the arduous journey they have undertaken down the mountain. The shepherd is a barely noticeable figure, an anonymous character on the crest of the hill. The image evokes a sense of pastoral harmony, even as we consider that this harmony is born of labor. It is a scene that perhaps reminds us to consider the relationship between humans, animals, and the land. How is this relationship harmonious, and how is it fraught?