The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds

1634

Rembrandt van Rijn

Associated Names
Rembrandt van Rijn

Artist, Dutch, 1606 - 1669

This print depicts a dark scene with a burst of light in the upper left corner, revealing a tall angel and many cherubs among swirling clouds. The angel faces the right and appears to gesture towards the ground, one hand extended outward. Below, three people are lit by the bright light from above. One of the people is running off to the left, another is kneeling on the ground, leaning back, and the third is standing, arms raised. Two long sticks or canes lay on the ground near them. Animals flee from the patch of bright light, including several large cows, small goats, and sheep with curling horns. More people are visible behind the rushing animals, standing under a large ledge on the right. The background is filled with dark trees that blend into the night.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching, burin and drypoint

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.7094

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    White/Boon 1969, no. 44, State iii/iii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Cortlandt Field Bishop (Lugt 2770b); Lessing Julius Rosenwald (Lugt 1760b), purchased from the Cortlandt Field Bishop Sale, 1935; given to the National Gallery of Art, 1943

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1946

  • The Life of Christ as Depicted in the Etchings of Rembrandt, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1946, no cat.

1956

  • Rembrandt and His Pupils, North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 1956, no. 5.

  • The Life of Christ in Prints, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 1956-1957, no cat.

1957

  • The Life of Christ in Prints, 14 venue touring exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts (J.B. Speed Museum, Louisville, KY; Grand Rapids Art Gallery, MI; Time, Inc., New York, NY; Washington County Museum, Hagerstown, MD; Cornell University, Ithaca, NY; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO; Newcomb College, New Orleans, LA; Wells College, Aurora, NY; Mississippi Art Association, Jackson, MS; Calgary Allied Arts Centre, Alberta, Canada; Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta, Canada; Sackville Art Association, New Brunswick, Canada; and Winnipeg Art Gallery, Manitoba, Canada), 1957-1960, no cat.

1961

  • University of Notre Dame Art Gallery, South Bend, IN, 1961.

1966

  • Rembrandt, Museum of History and Technology, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., 1966-1967.

1969

  • Rembrandt in the National Gallery of Art [Commemorating the Tercentenary of the Artist's Death], National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969, no. 40, 43, repro.

  • Prints and Illuminations for the Christmas Season, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1969-1970, no catalogue.

2006

  • Strokes of Genius: Rembrandt's Prints and Drawings, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

2012

  • The Baroque Genius of Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., 2012

Bibliography

1923

  • Hind, Arthur M. A Catalogue of Rembrandt's Etchings. London: Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1923.

1969

  • White, Christopher and Karel G. Boon. Rembrandt's Etchings. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Van Gendt & Co., 1969.

Wikidata ID

Q65024509

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