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Pastoral Cruelty

A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of etching on ivory laid paper.

Date:

n.d.

Artist:

Johann Lorenz Rugendas I (German, 1730-1799)
after Charles Eisen (French, 1720-1778)

About this artwork

Damon:
Chloris! Is solitude better than a secure home?
Is it better than the love that true Damon offers you?

Chloris:
Damon, hold your tongue about your love, which is laughable to me.
My freedom and my roses, I love both more than you.

Johann Lorenz Rugendas I’s etchings often feature playful vignettes atop classically ornamented stands. Here Damon and Chloris appear in an Arcadian setting, surrounded by lush vegetation. In response to Damon’s declaration of love, Chloris recoils, upending her basket of roses. This forceful rejection of his love provides a piquant alternative to the normally placid and tranquil tone of pastoral poetry.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Johann Lorenz Rugendas, I

Title

Pastoral Cruelty

Place

Germany (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Artist's working dates 1750–1799

Medium

Etching on ivory laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 29 × 19.1 cm (11 7/16 × 7 9/16 in.); Sheet: 38.6 × 24.1 cm (15 1/4 × 9 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

The Wallace L. DeWolf and Joseph Brooks Fair Collections

Reference Number

1920.2371

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/133280/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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