The Shepherdess Of Rolleboise By Daniel Ridgway Knight, Oil Painting

Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839-1924): The Shepherdess of Rolleboise, 1896, oil on canvas, 172.7 x 128.2 cm, Brooklyn Museum, New York City

A dreamy mood prevails in this dignified image of a French shepherdess. The pastoral setting provides a poetic backdrop to her youth and beauty, creating a picture that erases the social realities of peasant life. Daniel Ridgway Knight was well aware of this painting's potential for success when it debuted at the Paris Salon in 1896; it combined the silvery gray palette and romanticized peasant subject matter that were then popular in Europe.