Neapolitan Herder and a Cow Leaving a Cave

Neapolitan Herder and a Cow Leaving a Cave (French: Berger napolitain et bufflonne quittant une grotte) is a circa 1750 painting by the French artist Jean Barbault. It is now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Strasbourg. Its inventory number is 44.2009.2.1.[1]

Neapolitan Herder and a Cow Leaving a Cave
ArtistJean Barbault
Yearcirca 1750
Mediumoil painting on canvas
MovementRococo
genre painting
Dimensions49 cm × 64.5 cm (19 in × 25.4 in)[1]
LocationMusée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg
Accession2009

The painting, which was unpublished before its purchase by the museum, is considered as one of the masterpieces of Jean Barbault, a French painter later established in Rome, who died at the early age of 43.[2][3]

While the real subject of the painting remains mysterious (does it depict a simple genre scene, or does it depict Io with Argus, or with Mercury?), the herder looks like a figure that appears at the right edge of Barbault's extravagant painting (measuring 37.7 × 392 cm [14.8 × 154 in]) Mascarade des quatres parties du monde, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Besançon, and may be a self-portrait.[4][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Berger napolitain et bufflonne quittant une grotte". museesgrandest.org. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  2. ^ Rykner, Didier (24 July 2009). "Strasbourg achète un Jean Barbault et se voit offrir un Antonio Vaccaro". latribunedelart.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Jean Barbault Exhibition in Strasbourg". enfilade18thc.com. 26 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  4. ^ Preiner, Michaela (20 June 2010). "Wie eine Büffelkuh zum Star avanciert". Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  5. ^ Rykner, Didier (5 June 2010). "Jean Barbault (1718-1762). Le théâtre de la vie italienne". latribunedelart.com. Retrieved 28 June 2022.