Shepherdess
by BIJLERT, Jan van, Oil on canvas, 99 x 77 cm
The artist was a prolific painter of pastoral scenes, all representing shepherds and shepherdesses as single half-length figures or in narrative representations. The present painting shows a shepherdess, half-length, wearing a large blue hat decorated with an iris and holding a staff. It is a characteristic example of what is described as Utrecht Caravaggism.
The painting has a pendant representing a shepherd with a flute (private collection).