The Classical Pastoral in the Visual Arts

This fascinating study treats the pastoral theme in visual arts as a subject of distinct character, epitomized in the poetic shepherd living in intimate contact with ideal nature. Following the Vergilian tradition of the pastoral, the author guides the reader through complex imagery. The discussion includes Arcadia both as a region and as an idea, Pan as pastoral deity, and the image of the pastoral shepherd from Antiquity through the Age of Rococo. Masterpieces of classical art and European painting are considered and interpreted anew.