NARRATOR:
For Rembrandt, printmaking was a vital medium of creative expression. He explored a variety of subjects, including portraiture, landscape, religious and genre scenes. Here, he depicts the Adoration of the Shepherds, capturing the mystery and wonder of this nocturnal event.
According to St. Luke, an angel appeared to the shepherds in the field, conveying the good news that Christ had been born:
LUKE (ACTOR):
“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”
NARRATOR:
Notice how Rembrandt builds up the lines to create a rich, velvety texture virtually unequaled in contemporary printmaking. The lines are so dense they give us the sensation of sharing this intimate moment in the darkened manger. On the left, a shepherd stands with a lantern. Its light barely illuminates the figures crowding behind him… and the silhouettes of barn animals in the lower left corner. At the right, Joseph reads a book, probably illuminated by a candle behind his head. Just below, you can make out the tiny face of the swaddled baby… and, slightly to the left, the crouched figure of the Virgin Mary, resting her head and drawing back her hood with her hand to gaze at her newborn son….
The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece
c. 1652
Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)
Not on View
Details
- Artist Name: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)
- Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece
- Date: c. 1652
- Medium: Etching, drypoint and burin
- Edition: State V
- Dimensions: plate: 5 7/8 x 7 3/4 in. (14.9 x 19.7 cm); sheet: 6 x 7 15/16 in. (15.2 x 20.2 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
- Accession Number: M.1977.32.094.G
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
New Testament Etchings by Rembrandt: The Early Life of Christ
- Norton Simon Museum, 1988-12-08 to 1989-07-02
Rembrandt: A Decade of Brillance, 1648-1658
- University of San Diego, 2015-03-20 to 2015-05-22
From Line into Image: Etchings by Rembrandt Van Rijn
- Norton Simon Museum, 1992-01-30 to 1992-09-06
Rembrandt Etchings: Old and New Testament
- Norton Simon Museum, 1984-09-13 to 1985-04-28
Rembrandt Etchings
- Norton Simon Museum, 1978-08-10 to 1980
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1452 p. 408
- Adrian Eeles, Rembrandt Prints 1648-1685: A Brilliant Decade, 2015, 44 pp. 118-119
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