Pastorale scène met herder en herderin before 1660

Gesina ter Borch made this pen and ink drawing called "Pastorale Scene with Shepherd and Shepherdess" in the Netherlands, likely during the mid-17th century. The scene evokes a classical Arcadia, but Ter Borch gives it a distinctly Dutch flavor. The man and woman, dressed as idealized shepherds, attend to their flock in a cultivated landscape. These pastoral scenes were very popular among the Dutch elite. They offered a nostalgic view of rural life, even as the Netherlands became an increasingly urban and commercial society. But Ter Borch was not part of that elite. As a woman artist working outside the traditional guild system, she navigated the art world on her own terms, so her rendering of this classic theme may subtly critique the traditional art establishment. To learn more about Ter Borch's world, we can look at costume books, conduct studies of economic history, and analyse similar artwork. By examining these sources, we can see her art as embedded in a specific time and place.