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Festival of the Shepherds at Unspunnen, August 17, 1808

1808–9
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
On a second trip to Switzerland, Vigée Le Brun painted a bird’s-eye view of a mountain meadow near Interlaken’s Unspunnen Castle, where a festival was held to celebrate traditional Swiss games and customs. In the foreground, Madame de Staël walks with the duc de Montmorency. To the right, alpenhorns (typically more than ten feet long) are brandished like bugles, while on the left, musicians and dancers perform. The artist, draped in red, sketches in the foreground.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Festival of the Shepherds at Unspunnen, August 17, 1808
  • Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)
  • Date: 1808–9
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 33 1/8 × 44 7/8 in. (84 × 114 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gottfried Keller-Stiftung, Bundesamt für Kultur, Bern, on deposit at the Kunstmuseum Bern (G 0843)
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings