Bamboccianti painter; 17th century, or Dutch painter active in Italy in the mid-17th century

Bamboccianti painter; 17th century, or Dutch painter active in Italy in the mid-17th century.
"Pastoral scenes".
Oil paintings on panels.
Measurements: 11 x 19 cm (x2); 24 x 32 cm (x2).
The two compositions, stylistically linked to the sphere of the bamboccianti and to the tradition of the Dutch painters active in Rome in the mid-17th century, present pastoral scenes articulated with a marked narrative sense and a meticulous attention to daily observation. In the first canvas, the landscape opens up under a golden light that softly models the volumes of the cattle and accentuates the atmospheric depth of the horizon. Several figures, shepherds and peasants, are distributed around a small group of animals, among which cows and horses are standing still in natural attitudes; one of the characters appears crouched down, probably engaged in tasks of care or preparation of the animal, while in the background the rustic architecture of a rocky shelter is insinuated. The painting combines the interest in humble life with a remarkable handling of the loose and vibrant brushstroke, which endows the scene with immediacy and vivacity.
The second scene, denser in its composition, presents a caravan of travelers and shepherds advancing slowly with their loaded horses and a small flock of sheep. The twilight lighting - typical of certain bamboccianti linked to tonal naturalism - allows the texture of the cloths, the voluminous saddlebags and the metal of the ironwork to stand out, emphasizing the roughness of the itinerant life. The figures are grouped dynamically: one man leans forward to adjust the load on a horse, while others accompany the slow progress of the group. Once again, the painting records with narrative precision the anecdotal details and spontaneous gestures, integrated in an open landscape that, although secondary, contributes to create an atmosphere of transit and effort.
Both works, probably conceived as pairs or complementary scenes, share the characteristic aesthetics of the bambocciante circle: the valuation of the humble motif, the naturalistic capture of pastoral life and the expressive use of chiaroscuro to articulate the pictorial matter. The broken brushstroke, the choice of landscape formats and the meticulous attention to animals and human figures refer to that Italian-Dutch tradition that, in the Rome of the 17th century, developed a pastoral and customs genre as direct as it was sophisticated in its visual construction.