Ignazio Jacometti

Dublin National Exposition, 1865, no. 189.

Ignazio Jacometti began his artistic career when he enrolled at the Accademia di San Luca in 1835. After finishing his education, he opened a studio in the Piazza Barberini, Rome and began to focus on creating marble groups of religious subjects. His oeuvre includes a marble of Bacio di Giuda (Kiss of Judas), a statue of Moses for the Column of the Immacolata, Rome and the adornments for the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome.

Depicting a shepherdess lovingly attending to her goats, this sculpture represents a break in Jacometti's usual, religious aesthetic. The subject, which conveys a sense of femininity and innocence, would have appealed to the taste of his 19th century audience.

The work was exhibited in the Dublin National Exposition of 1865, as number 189.