Hirtenknabe,

Lenbach began his career by painting genre scenes and realistic studies of nature. Shepherd Boy is his finest work from this period. Schack wrote of it: ‘We seem to see and feel the blinding light and scorching heat of the sun. Like the boy stretched out in divine idleness, we would gladly let ourselves be warmed through and through by the midday rays. Murillo, in his own manner, scarcely produced anything finer.’ (Count Schack). Lenbach saw Murillo's paintings of children in the Alte Pinakothek. He was inspired by naturalistic details such as the dirty feet, which make Murillo's depictions of Seville's street children seem so realistic.