Study of Three goats

This 1820 study of three goats was likely made during Dahl's Italian travels, where he encountered the Mediterranean landscape's characteristic goat herds as part of the pastoral economy of the Neapolitan countryside. Animal studies were part of the comprehensive observational program that complemented his landscape work, providing him with accurate visual records that could be incorporated into larger compositions. The goats' alert, angular presence and the specific quality of their short coats presented different technical challenges from the bear and agave studies he made during the same Italian period. The combination of specific animal observation with the Italian journey material makes this group of studies a coherent record of his systematic encounter with the Mediterranean world.

The study captures the animals with quick, assured brushwork, focusing on their forms and textures rather than finished detail, typical of Dahl's approach to preparatory nature studies.