The Pastoral Concert is an oil painting, which was painted either by Giorgione or his pupil Titian. Modern critics are back and forth on the subject, but the most widely accepted theory is that the master Giorgione began the painting, and after his death, his pupil Titian completed the work.
The painting portrays two nude women, one standing and pouring a pitcher of water, and the other lounging on the grass, paused attentively with a flute in her hand. The women appear robust by today’s beauty standards, but in the time of Titian and Giorgione, represented the ideal of female beauty. The figures are curvy and sensual, but not overly eroticized. Their curvy figures are emphasized naturally by the rolling landscape behind them, creating …show more content…
Unlike the women, these men are fully clothed; The lute player wearing flashy red robes reminiscent of an established city-dweller, while the other man appears more shabby, with duller colored clothes more attributed to that of a peasant. Additionally, in the background we can make out an approaching shepherd, leading a flock of sheep.
The first interesting thing about this painting is the presence of the two nude women, and the men who are fully clothed, and seem completely oblivious. This strange juxtaposition could be an allegory for poetry. The women are not actually there in a physical form, but represent the muses of these two artists, and in fact serve as an allegory for the birth of poetry and inspiration.
The presence of the distant shepherd seems to complicate things. What he represents is unclear, but it’s possible he could represent an unlearned individual, or an individual who has no grasp of the arts, as these two men, despite their social differences, are engaged in this act of creating poetry and art, while the ignorant laborer carries on obliviously. Thus, the implication may be that through academics and a deeper understanding of the world, one will be able to be like these two poets, and transcend into their idealistic
The painting portrays two nude women, one standing and pouring a pitcher of water, and the other lounging on the grass, paused attentively with a flute in her hand. The women appear robust by today’s beauty standards, but in the time of Titian and Giorgione, represented the ideal of female beauty. The figures are curvy and sensual, but not overly eroticized. Their curvy figures are emphasized naturally by the rolling landscape behind them, creating …show more content…
Unlike the women, these men are fully clothed; The lute player wearing flashy red robes reminiscent of an established city-dweller, while the other man appears more shabby, with duller colored clothes more attributed to that of a peasant. Additionally, in the background we can make out an approaching shepherd, leading a flock of sheep.
The first interesting thing about this painting is the presence of the two nude women, and the men who are fully clothed, and seem completely oblivious. This strange juxtaposition could be an allegory for poetry. The women are not actually there in a physical form, but represent the muses of these two artists, and in fact serve as an allegory for the birth of poetry and inspiration.
The presence of the distant shepherd seems to complicate things. What he represents is unclear, but it’s possible he could represent an unlearned individual, or an individual who has no grasp of the arts, as these two men, despite their social differences, are engaged in this act of creating poetry and art, while the ignorant laborer carries on obliviously. Thus, the implication may be that through academics and a deeper understanding of the world, one will be able to be like these two poets, and transcend into their idealistic