Angel Appearing to the Shepherds (The) (H. 120, B. 44, Hool. 44 III/III)

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Angel Appearing to the Shepherds (The) (H. 120, B. 44, Hool. 44 III/III)

Artist Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606-1669)

Date1634

DimensionsOverall: 10 1/4 x 8 9/16 in. (26.1 x 21.8 cm)

MediumEtching, burin and drypoint

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineWilliam J. Hitchcock Fund in memory of Grace J. Hitchcock

Object number

1983.65

Not on View

Label TextA spectacular tour de force and Rembrandt’s first print of a night scene, The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds shows the artist taking the pictorial possibilities of etching farther than he had yet attempted. The scene is built up with a fine mesh of cross-hatching; there are no outlines, only areas of shadow of varying intensity. The elaborate technique and the dramatically arranged composition make this the artist’s most successful expression of the Baroque style. In this particular impression the light-filled interaction between heavenly apparition and the terrified figures below works dramatically. The landscape remains black and mysterious, strongly contrasting with the angelic messenger in keeping with the Baroque style.Published ReferencesConte, Jeanne, Advent Anticipation: Drawing Nearer to the Christ Child, New York: Troitsa Books, 2009, repr. (B&W) cover.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Painter Was a Printmaker, June 23 - Sept. 9, 1984 (no cat.). TMA, The Dramatic Image: Baroque Prints of the 17th Century, February 25 - July 31, 2011.