Student Artwork Guide
Copyright This work is in the public domain. Paulus Moreelse died in 1638; copyright lasts 70 years after the artist’s death, so it ended in 1708.
In context
A Shepherdess, Paulus Moreelse, 1630 — Paulus Moreelse
The original measures 82 × 65 cm (height × width), drawn here beside an adult of average height.
Row above: the years. Row below: how old the artist was at the start and at the end of each span — 0 at birth, 67 at death.
Painted when the artist was 59. The artist lived to 67. 7 of the 11 dated works by this artist in our catalogue came earlier.
Shaded: the lifetime of Paulus Moreelse (1571–1638) ▲ this work, 1630 every dated painting, decade by decade
First works: up to 1617 Main working years: 1617–1630 Late works: from 1630
Those three bands split the works this catalogue has a date for into a first quarter, a middle half and a last quarter. They are not the artist’s complete output: a thin stretch may be a gap in the record rather than a quiet spell. The same years with the artist’s life laid along them
Pick one work above: name two things it shares with this one, and one thing that's different.
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Measured from the image
Main colour
Phthalo Green #1c180f
Catalogued palette
These colours inside the artist’s whole palette Find other paintings by colour
The ten leading countries
Find the three darkest countries on the map. Is the museum that keeps this painting in any of them? Write down one reason people far away might look at it.
Together these works take 99.9% of all the attention this artist's paintings received over the last twelve months. The catalogue holds 27 works by this artist, of which 7 were looked at at least once. This painting has not been looked at yet in that time — it closes the list without a rank. The same counts, month by month
Bars measure attention, not quality. Pick the work at the top and this one: name one thing that might make a painting famous beyond how well it is painted.
About this artwork
A Shepherdess, Paulus Moreelse, 1630 — Paulus Moreelse
Apart from his substantial portrait oeuvre, Moreelse is most closely associated with the genre of the single-figure shepherdess. The earliest known painting of this type in the northern Netherlands is dated 1617 (fig. a) and was executed by Moreelse, who was most likely also the first Utrecht artist to use pastoral subject matter.5 Pastoral subjects were employed by Dutch artists in other cities before this time, but the most likely source for Moreelse’s single, bust and half-length figures were 16th-century Venetian depictions of courtesans.6 Of the approximately 15 shepherdesses painted by Moreelse, the Rijksmuseum painting is the most famous and the most often copied.7 A monogrammed replica from 1633 now in Princeton8 is considered to be a product of Moreelse’s studio by Domela Nieuwenhuis.9 The Rijksmuseum shepherdess is of the more slender, elegant type Moreelse developed in the mid-1620s.10 In those depictions as well, the figure is set somewhat further back from the picture plane and leans slightly toward the viewer, whom she engages with a come-hither look. The voluminous quality of the figure in the present painting is enhanced by the undifferentiated dark background and the yellow cloak in which she is enveloped. Unlike his other depictions of shepherdesses, the figure in the Rijksmuseum painting wears a veil instead of a straw hat or beret. The colouring and the lighting are also much more subtle than in the other comparable works. Some of Moreelse’s single-figure shepherdesses originally had male counterparts; it is known, for example, that the States of Utrecht gave a pair of paintings by Moreelse showing a shepherd and a shepherdess to Amalia van Solms in 1627.11 It is therefore possible that the Rijksmuseum Shepherdess also had a male pendant originally. The Rijksmuseum painting was first given the nickname ‘The beautiful shepherdess’ (De schone herderin) in print in the 1858 catalogue of the museum’s collection. Jonathan Bikker, 2007 See Bibliography and Rijksmuseum painting catalogues See Key to abbreviations and Acknowledgements This entry was published in J. Bikker (ed.), Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, I: Artists Born between 1570 and 1600, coll. cat. Amsterdam 2007, no. 220.
Artist and museum
Born in Utrecht, Netherlands
Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio, remains one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in art history. Born in Milan around 1571, his life was a whirlwind of dramatic events—a volatile temper, brushes dipped in both brilliance and blood, and a legacy that continues to captivate audiences centuries later. His journey from a relatively obscure Lombard painter to a celebrated master in Rome is a testament to his raw talent, audacious techniques, and the profound impact he had on the course of Western art. Caravaggio’s story is not simply one of artistic achievement; it's a tale interwoven with scandal, violence, and ultimately, an enduring fascination.
Caravaggio’s early life remains shrouded in some mystery, though we know he was born into a family connected to the powerful Sforza and Colonna families of Lombardy. His father, Fermo Merisi, worked as a household administrator for the Marchese of Caravaggio, and his mother, Lucia Aratori, came from a prosperous family within the same district. He received an apprenticeship in Milan under Simone Peterzano, a follower of Titian, during which he spent four years honing his skills. This period exposed him to the prevailing artistic conventions of the time – a style characterized by elegance, balance, and a focus on idealized forms. However, even at this early stage, Caravaggio demonstrated a willingness to deviate from established norms, hinting at the revolutionary approach that would soon define his work. The influence of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, viewed during his formative years in Milan, is often cited as a key factor in shaping his later dramatic compositions and innovative use of perspective.
In 1592, Caravaggio fled Milan for Rome, arriving amidst the city’s vibrant artistic scene and seeking refuge from unspecified “quarrels.” He quickly found himself working as a studio assistant for Giuseppe Cesari, a successful painter employed by Pope Clement VIII. This period was marked by hard labor and limited recognition, but it provided him with invaluable experience and access to influential patrons. Crucially, he began experimenting with his own style, producing works like The Boy Bitten by a Lizard (circa 1594), which showcased his distinctive use of tenebrism – a dramatic contrast between light and dark—and his penchant for depicting ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. This marked a decisive break from the idealized figures prevalent in much of Renaissance art, as Caravaggio deliberately chose models with rough features and unrefined appearances, imbuing them with an unprecedented sense of immediacy and realism.
Caravaggio’s artistic innovations extended far beyond his choice of subjects and modeling techniques. His mastery of chiaroscuro, the manipulation of light and shadow, was utterly transformative. He employed a technique known as tenebrism, where dark shadows dominate the scene, plunging figures into near-total darkness while highlighting key elements with intense pools of light. This created a dramatic, theatrical effect that heightened emotional impact and drew the viewer’s eye to specific points within the composition. Furthermore, Caravaggio meticulously observed and rendered details—the texture of fabrics, the wrinkles on faces, the sheen of metal—with astonishing accuracy. He painted directly onto the canvas, often without preliminary sketches, allowing for a spontaneous and intensely personal approach. This technique, combined with his use of live models, resulted in paintings that felt remarkably immediate and alive, as if capturing fleeting moments of human experience.
Caravaggio’s life took a dark turn in 1606 when he was involved in a violent altercation resulting in the death of a young man. Rather than face justice, he fled Rome, traveling through Naples, Malta, and Sicily. In Malta, his volatile temper led to another conflict, culminating in his expulsion from the Knights of St. John. He eventually returned to Naples, where he was fatally wounded during a brawl. Caravaggio died in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, in 1610, leaving behind a relatively small body of work but an immeasurable impact on subsequent generations of artists. His influence can be seen in the works of Rembrandt, Velázquez, Géricault, and countless others who adopted his dramatic lighting, realistic portrayal of figures, and innovative approach to composition. Caravaggio’s legacy extends beyond painting; he fundamentally altered the way artists approached representation, shifting the focus from idealized beauty to the raw realities of human experience—a shift that continues to resonate with audiences today. His paintings remain intensely powerful, evoking a sense of drama, emotion, and timeless relevance.
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Look closely
A Shepherdess, Paulus Moreelse, 1630 — Paulus Moreelse
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The color of "A Shepherdess, Paulus Moreelse, 1630" is subtle color in saturation and monochromatic in intensity.
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