Classical Landscape

This highly finished painting features details such as trees, plants, rocky outcrops and ruins which were based on drawings made from nature. The composition, however, represents Bertin's imaginative interpretation of a classical pastoral scene, representing an idealised vision. In the foreground by a broken tree stump, two young women hold up garlands of flowers, while in the shade of trees at the centre right, shepherds make an offering to a statue of Pan, the ancient Greek god of the woods and protector of shepherds and their flocks.