The Good Shepherd motif certainly calls to mind the Gospel parables of the lost sheep (Luke 15) and of the shepherd who gives his life for his sheep (John 10). Also the shepherd plays an important role in the Old Testament book of Psalms. But the shepherd was also popular as an allegorical figure in classical art and culture. It is significant to note that the style of this painting with its loose impressionistic style and suggestion of landscape space echoes a category of ancient painting called sacral-idyllic landscapes: