Artwork
Two Sheperds
Two Sheperds is a photography by the Romanticist artist Unknown artist. It is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Overview
Two Shepherds is an image attributed to Xun Xu, a Chinese official, musician and writer active during the late Three Kingdoms and early Jin periods. The work is part of the Museum of Ethnography’s holdings and presents a tranquil rural scene in which two figures and a dog occupy a modest landscape of hills, trees and water.
Subject & Meaning
The composition shows two men seated on stone blocks, one holding a staff, the other draped only in a white cloth around his hips, while a dog stands behind them. Their gaze meets in quiet interaction, suggesting a moment of peaceful conversation or shared watchfulness within a pastoral setting.
Technique & Style
Rendered with soft hues and gentle illumination, the image employs a restrained palette that enhances its calm atmosphere. The figures are outlined with modest detail, and the surrounding hills and foliage are suggested rather than fully delineated, reflecting a style consistent with Xun Xu’s era and its emphasis on understated elegance.
History & Provenance
Created in 1813 according to the museum label—though Xun Xu lived centuries earlier—the piece entered the Museum of Ethnography’s collection at an unspecified date. Its attribution to the historical figure links the work to the cultural milieu of early medieval China, despite the later dating noted in the record.
Artist & collection
Artist
Xun Xu (c. 221 – 289), courtesy name Gongzeng, was a Chinese musician, painter, politician, and writer who lived during the late Three Kingdoms period and early Jin dynasty of China. Born in the influential Xun family,…
Portrait of Emilie Henriette Massmann, Betrothed of Frederik Wilhelm Caspar von Benzon
Landscape with Trees near Paris
Linear Perspective as Applied in Painting - Plate VII, 1 - A Street Corner Encounter
Self-Portrait
Landscape with a Stile. The Isle of Møn
Linear Perspctive as Applied in Painting - Plate VI. The Street Lamp on the Garden Wall, Daylight
Study of a Wood
Study of Clouds over the Sea
Hercules
Southern rocky landscape with Mercury and Argus
Mercury Killing Argus
Merkur und Argus
Apollo, Hyacinthus and Cyparissus making music and singing
Cain Slaying Abel
Academic Study of a Man and a Woman
Apollo and Marsyas
Tibullus Lamenting outside the Door of his Beloved
Mercury Killing Argus
Aristaeus and dead bees
Two Sheperds