Landscape with Cattle and Peasants, Lorrain

Lorrain's walks and explorations around the countryside of Rome provided the main inspiration for some of his most famous landscape paintings. He was fascinated with portraying nature accurately and playing with the fall of light on his subjects and scenes. Lorrain is most noted for not letting nature be sacrificed to any historical scenes being portrayed in his artwork. He believed that myths and historic events could be depicted and yet still be made beautiful and enhanced by their powerful natural surroundings. Even though this specific painting does not convey an important event, the awe-inspiring landscape is still the focus and enhances and almost beautifies the mundane task taking place in the foreground.