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The image shows a pastoral scene from an elevated point of view. The horizon is depicted by a faint line of distant trees and hills merging with the sky. In the center, a figure is riding an animal across a rustic bridge over a stream. Tall trees frame the scene, with delicate branches reaching upwards in a canopy. Birds are faintly visible in the sky. The brushstroke style is intricate and delicate, with fine lines composing the trees and foliage. The color palette is monochromatic, dominated by sepia tones.
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The image shows a pastoral scene from an elevated point of view. The horizon is depicted by a faint line of distant trees and hills merging with the sky. In the center, a figure is riding an animal across a rustic bridge over a stream. Tall trees frame the scene, with delicate branches reaching upwards in a canopy. Birds are faintly visible in the sky. The brushstroke style is intricate and delicate, with fine lines composing the trees and foliage. The color palette is monochromatic, dominated by sepia tones.

National Gallery of Art · Drawing

A Farmer and a Sheep Crossing a Rustic Bridge

Jean-Baptiste Le Prince

Medium
red chalk on laid paper
Dimensions
overall: 27.3 x 23.6 cm (10 3/4 x 9 5/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Accession number
1995.47.54
Credit line
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Time span
1726 to 1750
Department
CG-E
Original NGA record Wikidata

Subjects and terms

  • French
  • occupation
  • genre
  • Landscape
  • France
  • landscape
  • Farmer
  • Sheep
Provenance

Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendl; (sale, London, Sotheby's, 1 December 1966, lot 66); (purchased by Colnaghi Drawings); purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, Upperville, VA, 1967; gift to NGA, 1995.

Inscription

by later hand, upper left verso in graphite: 2491 / Le Prince; by later hand, lower left verso in graphite: Prince 3661

Watermarks

Crown over CR

NGA object ID 93022. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.