From the Old Testament to a Worldly Idyll
A vivid imagination alone is not enough to paint landscapes that will transport the viewer to southern climes. In the first place, this fantasy land must already exist in the collective cultural consciousness of the time. The representation of herdsmen in the greek arcadian setting were quite common. In Berchem’s day, his compatriots were more familiar with the world of the Old Testament. In his early religious composition we already see Berchem’s ability to paint figures that draw the viewer into a welcoming universe. And his animals, similarly filled with life, became widely known in his engravings.