Reclining Cow and Calf in the Open 1758 - 1759

Francesco Londonio created "Reclining Cow and Calf in the Open" using etching, a printmaking technique. Londonio, living in 18th-century Europe, worked in a society deeply structured by class and agrarian life. While he moved within artistic circles, the world he depicted was that of the rural worker and the animals central to their existence. This etching, with its careful detail of the cow and calf, evokes the intimacy of the pastoral while acknowledging the animals' economic role. It’s hard not to see these images as projecting an idealized version of rural life, one where nature is gentle. And it is interesting to consider how class is at play here. Londonio himself was not a farmer; he observed and represented this world. Did his urban perspective influence his portrayal of rural simplicity? In the end, “Reclining Cow and Calf” offers a look into the values assigned to the natural world during a time of social and economic change, and leaves us to consider our relationship to the earth and its creatures.