Landscape with family walking together in the foreground, at left two figures with herd of goats and sheep; a mill (?) and other buildings in the background

Art Historical Context

Domenico Campagnola’s woodcut from around 1535–40 invites viewers into a serene pastoral world. In the foreground, a family strolls together while two figures tend a herd of goats and sheep nearby. Beyond them, a cluster of buildings—including what may be a mill—nestles into the rolling landscape, creating a harmonious balance between human activity and nature. As a woodcut, this print exemplifies the Renaissance interest in capturing expansive views through a medium that allowed wider circulation of images. Campagnola’s composition emphasizes depth and everyday rural life, reflecting 16th-century Venetian fascination with the countryside as both a place of labor and quiet retreat. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Drawings and Prints, the work measures just over 13 by 17 inches and remains a compelling example of how artists used prints to celebrate the beauty of the natural world.

About the Artist

Domenico Campagnola · 1500–1564

Domenico Campagnola (c. 1500–1564), a Venetian Renaissance painter, engraver, and pioneering draftsman, was born around 1500, likely in Venice to German parents, and became a child prodigy under the tutelage of his adoptive father, Giulio Campagnola. Apprenticed to Giulio around 1507 in Venice, he mastered painting, drawing, engraving, and woodcutting from the esteemed Paduan engraver, whose stipp...