Ploriander, Plate 24
1710-1719
Created by Elias Baeck around 1710, this dramatic scene captures Ploriander, a lovestruck shepherd so devastated by his unrequited love for Ruffanella that he's melting into tears while singing a mournful song. Clutching a shovel like a tragic prop and wearing a ragged outfit with a leafy crown, he looks up to the heavens in pure despair. The elaborate border, complete with grotesque laughing masks and a shocked figure lying at the bottom, frames this scene with classic Baroque drama. It's a perfect snapshot of early 18th-century German popular theater, where high emotion met low comedy.
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