pastoral genre

The Development of the Pastoral Genre
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The Development of the Pastoral Genre
Pastoral genre represents rural life in a simple way to bring a contrast between city life and countryside life. The genre became popular during the mid-sixteenth century among the Spanish and Italian cultures. Later in the eighteenth century, the French people had quite embraced the use of the pastoral genre in artwork as well as in other literature settings. French poets were the first group of people to appreciate and revitalize pastoral literature in the society. Later, artists embraced the genre and used various painting techniques to represent country life in simple and admirable ways. The genre was used to represent and bring about pleasure and playfulness among the French people during the 18th century. The works of Jean-Honor Fragonard and especially the Grape Gatherer painting show happiness and the fantasy of a simple rural life.
Elements from the ancient Greek indicate that during the ancient times, people appreciated the pastoral life that they had just lost. The importance of country life began to lose its meaning as the desire for urbanization crept in during the ancient periods. Urbanization brought about complications and issues that were not present during the traditional pastoral days. Artists, poets, and musicians, therefore, began creating art using the pastoral genre in appreciation of the lost comfort of a pastoral lifestyle. During the sixteenth century, Italy and Spain produced various works in both literature and art depicting the pastoral lifestyle in a more relaxed and romanticized way.

At this age, pastoral genre represented country life as being closer to the golden age than the rest of human life. The genre brought about relaxation, reminded people of family love, and brought playfulness to the difficult life that people were living in the urban centers. The artists used their gifts to present the charms of rural life and the playfulness that was associated with the pastoral life.
The definition of the pastoral genre varied from one person to another, and as time progressed, a few details were added to the genre to represent the country life wholesomely. Traditionally, the pastoral genre represented the life of shepherds in an embellished, romantic, but representative way. However, in the seventeenth and the eighteenth century, two more definitions were added to the term to bring the wholesomeness of the topic. In modern understanding, the pastoral genre is a representation of rural subjects and countryside issues such as farming, shepherding, and other activities carried out along the countryside. The genre is used to compare rural and urban life with the intention of urging people to embrace the less complicated countryside life. The modern pastoral genre is based on perception, unrealistic depiction of the rural life and myth, unlike the traditional representation of the genre.
Critics raised several controversies concerning how the artist’ depicted rural life in the eighteenth century. The unrealistic representation of the pastoral life by the modern artists affected the growth of the pastoral genre. The difference between real and ideal, nature and art as well as the actual and mythical became the major hindrances to the growth and development of the pastoral genre in the eighteenth century. Most modern artists were not privy of the traditional shepherd ways of living; therefore, they were unable to recreate the real pastoral lifestyle through art. Regardless of the challenges, the pastoral genre has made its way through to the twenty-first century where artists, poets, and historians show a great appreciation of the countryside lifestyle. The society has come to appreciate the creative nature of artwork thus allowing artists to include mythical ideas to the pastoral genre to bring out the intended message.
During the eighteenth century, the pastoral genre spread past Italy and Spain and gained a lot of appreciation in France. Several French poets based their work on pastoral literature and so did the artists. Fragonard is one of the renowned artists who has created several works using the pastoral genre. His painting, the Grape Gatherer, is an ideal representation of what pastoral genre depicted during the 18th century.
The artists used the genre to represent a hard and difficult life in a simple way. In the Grape Gatherer’s painting, the artist tries to simplify the hardship of a mother having to carry out farm chores while taking care of two young children by bringing playfulness into the picture. Normally, the mother would be so stressed up by these time-consuming jobs, but the artist adds some joy in the whole situation by bringing out the playful acts of the children. The older child overturns, the younger one and runs to hide behind the mother’s dress. Naturally, the older child would be afraid of the mother for doing such a thing. Additionally, the mother seems happy about the play between the two kids, although their actions might interfere with her grape-gathering. From the dressing of the mother and the children, it is evident that the family belongs to a less elegant class. However, the family is depicted as happier than most families living in the urban centers and having better lifestyles. The painting causes people to admire the simplicity of rural life as well as the joy that countryside brings to those who appreciate nature.
In the eighteenth century, the pastoral genre was used to show the dominion that human beings had over nature. The pastoral genre was used to indicate that the environment in which people live in respond negatively or positively based on how people treat it. If human beings take care of the society, then the ground is bound to be productive. In the Grape Gatherer’s painting, the woman takes care of the ground and in turn receives fruits to feed the family. Additionally, the children have an ideal place to play and interact with nature in a more serene way. The view of the natural world and its significance in people’s daily lives is the central theme of the painting, the grape gatherer. The ripe harvest as shown in the artwork is an indication of happiness, peace, and harmony within the society.
The pastoral genre has played an important role in reconnecting people with nature and the rural life in the current world. The genre began during the ancient Greek period as people began to appreciate the lost rural lifestyle. Italy and Spain were the main places where pastoral genre gained recognition during the sixteenth and the seventeenth century. However, the genre spread across the globe, and the French people became part of the modern pastoral genre development. Pastoral genre embraces new aspects today to allow artists to represent nature in a more wholesome way.

Bibliography
Bordeaux, Jean. “The Epitome of the Pastoral Genre in Boucher’s Oeuvre: The Fountain of Love and the Bird Catcher from the Noble Pastoral.” The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal, no. 3 (1976): 75-101.
Massengale, Jean. Jean-Honore Fragonard. New York: H.N.Abrams, 1993.
Michael, Levey. Painting and Sculpture in France, 1700-1789. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.
Rosenberg, Pierre. From Drawing to Painting: Poussin, Watteau, Fragonard, David, & Ingres. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Thuillier, Jacques. Fragonard: Bibliography and Critical Study. Geneva: Skira, 1967.