DUTCH CLASSICIST
Ca. 1660

Scared young Man with Cattle Herd in a Temple Grotto. Oil on wood. 45;9 x 52;4cm. Framed.

Verso:
Former labels and two signets; on the frame two references to the artists Daniel Vertangen and J. Heintz

We were not able to decipher the iconography of the scene. The two important figures in the scene seem to be the young man and the cow. This scene possibly draws on various writings of Greek mythology. For instance Io; who is transformed into a cow. Or the Iphigenia legends in which Agamemnon sacrifices a doe and Iphigenie is tranferred to the realm of the Tauri by Artemis. A captivating painting which does not correspond to usual pattern but convices through its painterly skill.
Art trade; Van Ham.