Dorelia

This painting is one of two surviving fragments, the other of which is in an Irish private collection, from an autograph replica of van Baburen’s Granida and Daifilo of 1623, now in a private collection. A further workshop version is also known (Koninklijke Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Brussels). The subject derives from the third scene of Act 1 in the acclaimed pastoral play, Granida, published in 1615 by the prolific Dutch playwright P.C. Hooft. The scene relays how Granida, the daughter of the King of Persia, comes upon Daifilo, a shepherd, and Dorelia, a shepherdess, asking where she can find water to quench her thirst. While the play ultimately climaxes in the marriage of Granida and Daifilo, artists—including Gerrit van Honthorst, Jacob Backer and Nicolaes Berchem—tended to depict their initial encounter, as van Baburen did here.