Shepherd and Sleeping Shepherdess

When the Persian princess Granida met the shepherd Daifilo and the shepherdess Dorilea resting in the woods, Daifilo fell in love with Granida at first sight. Oddly enough, Granida does not appear in this painting; she may have appeared at the left and was cut from the painting subsequently, or she may have appeared in a pendant painting.



All of Utrecht's leading artists painted scenes from the popular Dutch pastoral play Granida, written in about 1605. Hendrick Ter Brugghen here employed his characteristic low viewpoint, monumental figures, pale pastel color scheme, pinkish-red noses, and smooth surfaces. Responding to Caravaggio's influence, the artist presented the scene up close, dramatically illuminated by a broad beam of light from the left. But instead of Caravaggio's dark tones, he used delicate colors typical of his teacher Abraham Bloemaert's palette.