June: Sheep-Shearing (from a Series of Twelve Months) 17th-18th century

Curator: This is "June: Sheep-Shearing," attributed to Claude Simpol, a drawing from a series depicting the twelve months. It presents a pastoral scene of rural labor. Editor: There’s a languid stillness despite all the activity—the figures seem heavy, grounded. The monochromatic palette adds to this sense of quiet labor. Curator: The scene is steeped in symbolism, especially of the agricultural cycle and communal labor. Sheep shearing in June signifies abundance, but also a precarity tied to seasonal work. Look at how the act is centered—almost a ritualized performance, bound by gendered divisions of labor. Editor: The shepherd tending his flock in the background against the houses, the shearers, the spinners…the image speaks to a continuum of care. The presence of the sheep itself carries symbolic weight. Its fleece, the raw material, represents sustenance and trade. Curator: Absolutely, and the composition reinforces that interconnectedness—the way the figures are clustered suggests a tightly knit social fabric dependent on this seasonal rhythm. Editor: The artist prompts us to consider labor as a source of both material production and cultural identity. Food, clothing, and culture all from this one moment. Curator: It’s fascinating to see how Simpol captures the complex interplay of humans, animals, and landscape in this depiction of June. Editor: It leaves me pondering how we might reconsider our relationship with these interconnected systems of production.