''Et in Arcadia ego'' (also known as ''The Arcadian Shepherds'') is a painting by the Italian Baroque artist

Giovanni Francesco Barbieri Giovanni Francesco Barbieri (February 8, 1591 – December 22, 1666),Miller, 1964 better known as Guercino, or il Guercino , was an Italian Baroque painter and draftsman from Cento in the Emilia-Romagna, Emilia region, who was active in Rome and ...

(Guercino), from c. 1618–1622. It is now on display in the

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica The Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica or National Gallery of Ancient Art is an art museum in Rome, Italy. It is the principal national collection of older paintings in Rome – mostly from before 1800; it does not hold any antiquities. It has two ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Description

The painting shows two young shepherds staring at a skull, with a mouse and a blowfly, placed onto a

cippus A (plural: ''cippi''; "pointed pole") is a low, round or rectangular pedestal set up by the Ancient Romans for purposes such as a milestone or a boundary post. They were also used for somewhat differing purposes by the Etruscans and Carthaginians ...

with the words "Et in Arcadia ego" (Also in Paradise I am). This phrase is meant as a warning, that even in Arcadia/Paradise, death is always present. The phrase appears for the first time in art and architecture in this work. The iconography of the '' memento mori'' theme symbolised in art by the skull was rather popular in Rome and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

since Renaissance times. Elias L. Rivers suggested the phrase "Et in Arcadia ego" is derived from a line from

Daphnis In Greek mythology, Daphnis (; grc, Δάφνις, from , ''daphne'', "Bay Laurel") was a Sicilian shepherd who was said to be the inventor of pastoral poetry. Family According to tradition, he was the son of Hermes and a nymph, despite which ...

' funeral in

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

's Fifth

Eclogue An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. Overview The form of the word ''eclogue'' in contemporary English developed from Middle English , which came from Latin , wh ...

''Daphnis ego in silvis'' ("Daphnis was I amid the woods"), and that it referred to the dead shepherd within the tomb, rather than Death itself. Mentioned for the first time in the collection of

Antonio Barberini Antonio Barberini (5 August 1607 – 3 August 1671) was an Italian Catholic cardinal, Archbishop of Reims, military leader, patron of the arts and a prominent member of the House of Barberini. As one of the cardinal-nephews of Pope Urban VIII ...

in 1644, the painting was later acquired by

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politic ...

of Sciarra (1812), being attributed to Bartolomeo Schedoni until 1911. Nicolas Poussin also made two paintings on the topic of ''

Et in Arcadia ego ''Et in Arcadia ego'' (also known as ''Les bergers d'Arcadie'' or ''The Arcadian Shepherds'') is a 1637–38 painting by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665), the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style. It depicts a pastoral scene with id ...

'', less than two decades later. The painting is connected with Guercino's ''The Flaying of

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe ('' aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...

by Apollo'' in

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

(1618), where the same group of shepherds is present.

In literature and pop culture

Goethe's Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tre ...

''Italian Journey'' (1816) has "Et In Arcadia Ego" as its motto. Goethe viewed Guercino's painting in Cento (17 October 1786). Hans Christian Andersen's "Improvisatoren" (1835) in chapter 13 two of the main characters discuss the painting. William Faulkner's 1923 novel "The Sound And The Fury" mentions "Et in Arcadia Ego" in reference to Maury, a mentally disabled man. "Et in Arcadia Ego" is the title of Book One of ''

Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...

s ''

Brideshead Revisited ''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...

'' (1945). Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" in chapter 10. It is the name of the Judge's gun.

Tom Stoppard Sir Tom Stoppard (born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...

's 1993 play ''Arcadia'' implicitly references Guercino's painting in its title and explicitly alludes to the painting in Act 1, scene 1. Lady Croom first mistranslates it slightly as "Here I am in Arcadia!", missing the implication of death, but Septimus later translates it correctly, in reference to the killing of pigeons (, pp. 25–27). The painting works to foreground the play's focus on the beauty of life and the reality of death. In the 2017 game Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth Hackers Memory "Even In Arcadia, There Am I" is the name given to the 17th chapter. "Et In Arcadia Ego" is the title of the ninth and tenth episodes of the first season of '' Star Trek: Picard'' "Et In Arcadia Ego" is the title of the first episode of the first season of ''

References

External links

Official Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Et In Arcadia Ego (Guercino) 1622 paintings Paintings by Guercino Collections of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica Paintings about death Skulls in art Insects in art Mice and rats in art

Description

In literature and pop culture

See also

References

External links