Summer

Jan Pietersz Saenredam after Hendrik Goltzius

National Gallery of Art

The image shows two people depicted from head to toe. One person stands on the left, holding a staff over their shoulder and a bundle of wheat in their arms. They have curly hair adorned with a small wreath of wheat or leaves, and they are covered with rustic or natural attire made of leaves or straw. The other person stands on the right, facing the first person, with an arm on their shoulder. Their hair is pulled back into a braided style, and they wear a long, layered dress, holding a yoke across their shoulders with buckets on either side. They stand barefoot on grassy ground, with a cow with a bell around its neck next to them, grazing. A chicken is pecking at the ground near the pair. In the background, a pastoral scene unfolds with fields being harvested, small buildings, and a church steeple visible. Above, there is an image of a cherub flanked by clouds, playing an instrument in a ray of light.