Campino Holding a Staff

Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro’s first artistic works, carried out between around 1868 and 1875, mostly portray types, figures and popular customs, in compositions where he experimented with diverse techniques such as charcoal, watercolour and oil painting. Many of these initial works reflect the era's taste for the picturesque, which he exhibited in various salons of the Sociedade Promotora de Belas Artes; they also show the quality of his artistic work.
This surprising oil painting, created by the artist in 1875, depicts a 'campino' - cattle herder of the Ribatejo region - holding a staff. The figure is shown in the traditional costume of dark breeches, long white socks, a sash around the waist and brown waistcoat over a white shirt. On his head, the typical green cap with red edging. Thrown over his left shoulder is a blanket with a blue and brown striped pattern on a light background. The treatment of colours and the play of light reproduce with great realism a bright morning in the rural Lisbon landscape.