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Lot Essay
Arguably the leading exponent of Haarlem Classicism in the second quarter of the seventeenth century, Salomon de Bray seamlessly blended a range of influences – among them the Amsterdam history painter Pieter Lastman and the Utrecht Caravaggisti Hendrick ter Brugghen and Dirck van Baburen – into a distinctive style. The influence of ter Brugghen and Baburen is particularly evident here in the striking contrast between the deep background shadows and the warm highlights of the shepherd’s unblemished skin.
Though no pendant is known or documented, this painting would almost certainly have been conceived with an accompanying shepherdess, much like the comparable Shepherd of 1635 (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Dresden), whose companion went missing during World War II but is known today through photographs.
A copy of this painting, said to be by an artist in de Bray’s circle, was sold Lempertz, 19 November 2016, lot 1043.
Though no pendant is known or documented, this painting would almost certainly have been conceived with an accompanying shepherdess, much like the comparable Shepherd of 1635 (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Dresden), whose companion went missing during World War II but is known today through photographs.
A copy of this painting, said to be by an artist in de Bray’s circle, was sold Lempertz, 19 November 2016, lot 1043.