Goatherds in the hills

The renowned painter from Zaragoza, Mariano Barbasán, spent a good part of his life in Rome, between 1889 and 1921. He devoted himself mainly to capturing in his paintings popular scenes set against landscapes, most of them taken from the village of Anticoli Corrado, in the mountains of Latium (or Lazio). Peasants and shepherds and their daily activities became the focus of his paintings. This lovely painting Goatherds in the Hills, painted in 1920, a year before his return to Spain, shows two young female goatherds lying on the grass, in a place overlooking the valley, and watching as their goats graze peacefully. Two goats in the foreground and the girls in the background appear to be looking at a camera of a photographer wanting to capture such an idyllic scene. The subtle gradations of the light at dusk have been masterfully executed.