Description: | Colour mezzotint. Two shepherds, one seated and one standing, converse by an old, gnarled tree. The seated shepherd has food in his hand, at which two dogs are staring expectantly.
This mezzotint print is based on an oil painting by George Morland, which is in the collection of the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, USA. The print, engraved by John Raphael Smith, was published on 1 February 1803 as one of a pair, with Smith’s engraving after another Morland work titled ‘Cottage Family’ (the original version of which is now untraced). A reviewer for ‘The Monthly Magazine’ reported in 1803:
‘We may say of these two engravings, as of most of the works of Morland, that they are simple, unsophisticated nature, and they are extremely well engraved in mezzotinto.’ |