Shepherd playing the flute, and four shepherdesses

Van Honthorst's use of chiaroscuro creates a dramatic effect, with bright light on the figures' faces and hands contrasting with dark shadows on their clothes and the ground.

The painting is part of the Rijksmuseum collection. Van Honthorst was associated with a circle of Utrecht painters, including Hendrick ter Brugghen and Dirck van Baburen, and was influenced by Caravaggio's use of artificial light.