The Lost Sheep, by William J. Webb(e) (1830-1912[?]). Mid-late 1860s. Oil on canvas 13 5/8 x 17 3/4 inches (35 x 45 cm). Sutcliffe Galleries. Image reproduced by kind permission of the Sutcliffe Galleries, Harrogate. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
This painting portrays an earlier episode in Christ's Parable of The Lost Sheep where the shepherd is still searching for his errant sheep as distinct from the version Webb exhibited in 1864 where the shepherd has found the one that was lost and is carrying it home on his shoulders. Jesus's parable as told in Matthew XVIII, 11-13 recounts: "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more
The focus of this earlier episode in the parable is on the lone Awassi sheep perched on a mountainous promontory overlooking a deep valley. The shepherd with his staff is clearly seen in the right midground because the dry atmosphere of the Holy Land can make objects far off in the distance seem as clear and intense as those in the immediate foreground. A desolate landscape, emphasising the vast expanse of the desert terrain the shepherd needs to search, forms the background, which is bathed in the rosy glow of sunset. The sheep and the shepherd cast deep shadows. The Awassi nomadic sheep breed is the only indigenous breed of sheep found in Middle Eastern countries like Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan and its origins date back many thousands of years.