The Shepherdess

The Shepherdess presents a full-length, barefoot young woman standing in a calm countryside, a long staff resting across her shoulders and her arms extended to balance the weight. She wears a white blouse, a brown plaid wrap, and a dark green skirt cinched with a burgundy sash; the pale sky and distant hills form a gentle backdrop with grazing cattle and a rose bush to the right. The painting is executed in Bouguereau's refined Academic style, with smooth, precise brushwork, a restrained earthy palette, and a luminous, idealized rendering of skin and fabrics.