Allegory of Painting and Drawing Gm-31329701

Gerard van Nijmegen (Dutch, 1735–1808) A shepherdess and her admirer gaze at each other in the center of a bucolic scene, the woman perched on top of a wall and about to lower a wreath over his head. The couple appears nestled in nature, with fluffy sheep clustered at right, and behind and above them, an aged tree with craggy branches.

A cloth is tied around the shepherdess' mouth to stop her from speaking. According to the artist Gerard van Nijmegen's inscription on the verso, or reverse side of the drawing, she represents the silent art of Painting, and she crowns her male counterpart the discoverer of Drawing. To clarify his allegory, brushes and a palette rest beside the shepherdess. Beneath these attributes of Painting, a drawing of a female bust seems to lift up in the breeze.

Typical of the artist, the allegory is full of charming rustic details found in his cabinet paintings of mountain and woodland views: a rushing waterfall, watchful dog, and sleeping flock. The drawing features pencil, pen, grey and brown ink. The grey washes, in particular, enhance the effect of dappled light. Small details also add charm, such as the varying textures of the tree bark, the delicate bows on her shoes, or his vest about to pop a button.

The inscription on the wall, " Teekeningen van Verscheiden Meesters," indicates the sheet was designed as a title page for an album that held drawings by various masters. In the 1700s, Dutch collectors typically organized their drawings thematically, storing them loosely in large, tooled leather albums. The drawing was probably made for the Rotterdam Drawings Society, Hierdoor tot Hooger(or, "Through this still Higher"), of which van Nijmegen was a member. This elite association of men of leisure held evening gatherings to discuss their collections and enjoy a shared enthusiasm for papier kunst, or "art on paper."

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.