SAVOLDO, Giovanni Girolamo
(b. 1480, Brescia, d. 1548, Venezia)

Shepherd with a Flute

c. 1540
Oil on canvas, 97 x 78 cm
J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

According to one possible interpretation, the painting is an allegorical portrait of a patrician disguised as a shepherd. The figure is shown holding a recorder and a staff in one hand while gesturing with the other toward a background scene that includes a bagpiper, a flock of sheep, farm buildings, and an imposing, ruined classical building. The simply dressed shepherd wears a wide-brimmed hat that casts a shadow over his eyes, and a flask hangs from his belt.