Goat Herder at the San Antonio Quarry 1909

Robert Julian Onderdonk made this painting of a Goat Herder at the San Antonio Quarry with oil paint. There is an overall hazy and sun-drenched feeling. Onderdonk seems to have evoked the Texas landscape with warm colors, building up the ochres and browns. I imagine him outside, squinting into the bright sun, trying to get the colors just right. That young goatherd… I wonder what he was thinking as he stood for the painter. He looks to me like he's longing for something—maybe a bit melancholy, a little wary, but full of curiosity. It is interesting to note that Onderdonk’s treatment of light evokes the work of the French Impressionists, who were deeply interested in capturing the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. Of course, there is something very American about the subject matter! Artists are always looking at what other artists do. It’s like a big visual conversation.