1920s copy of the famous painting An Idyll by greiffenhagen Although Greiffenhagen regularly exhibited in the Royal Academy, ''An Idyll'' was the painting that established his reputation. The painting was an instant success and as a result was reproduced many times. It depicts a young man dressed as a shepherd embracing a woman on a slope of pastureland. Despite the many paintings featuring female nudity from this period, paintings of physical intimacy like this one were very rare. The shepherd is depicted grabbing the young woman with a sudden powerful movement. Her body falls powerless into his arms, the light colour of her skin contrasts with his. Her expression may have been characterised as ecstatic, but it is striking that she seems more to surrender to the young man''s passion than to actively participate in the embrace. An active role on behalf of the woman in a scene of passionate intimacy would have been unacceptable to a Victorian audience. However, the woman''s surr...