GENERAL DESCRIPTION
This is one of Rembrandt's most dramatic etchings. The story is taken from the Gospel of Luke, where an angel of the Lord announces to the shepherds the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the city seen in the background. The vivid contrast between celestial light and earthly darkness speaks eloquently of the drama of divine intervention.
A technically daring work in which almost the entire plate is etched black, this was Rembrandt's first etching of a night scene. It represents a masterpiece in which the technical and expressive limits of the etching medium were extended to their utmost.
Excerpt from
Carl Wuellner, DMA label copy, 2003
NOTES
Created 1634
Checked Piction
December 2003
SRH, "The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 81.
Rembrandt van Rijn's fertile imagination and versatility are evident in the more than three hundred etchings he created during his lifetime. Dissatisfied with the limitation of conventional etching, Rembrandt often combined its process with engraving and drypoint techniques.
The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds illustrates the rich tonalities and textural effects that Rembrandt was able to achieve through his experimental methods. In contrast to the typical etching process, working from light to dark, Rembrandt conceived the composition as essentially dark highlighted areas, thereby intensifying the scene. By effacing the lines on the plate with a burnisher, he created the glowing highlihgts ont he town in the background and the dazzling effects of the angels' light.
Rembrandt was apparently fascinated by stories in which God's will is communicated through angels, and when depicting such scenes he stressed their sudden and miraculous aspects. In this print the angels appear in a burst of light which illuminates the otherwise shadowy landscape below. The dramatic gestures of the angels may reflect the influence of Rembrandt's contemporary Peter Paul Rubens, the Flemish master known for his baroque stylization of exuberant and dynamic figures. At the same time, the meticulously detailed landscape reveals the importance of the realist tradition in seventeenth-century Holland. The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds is a particularly strong image, printed when the etched surface of the plate was still thoroughly saturated with the black ink.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
van Rijn, Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606-1669)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Bethlehem (inhabited place): TGN: 7001388
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- Rijiksmuseum, Amsterdam~Check out this self portrait of Rembrandt c. 1628.
- YouTube~Watch this video about an exhibition at the Frick Collection, New York, from 2011 tilted Rembrandt and His School: Masterworks from the Frick and Lugt Collections.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops~Read the complete story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke including the visitation of the shepherds.
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General Description
This is one of Rembrandt's most dramatic etchings. The story is taken from the Gospel of Luke, where an angel of the Lord announces to the shepherds the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, the city seen in the background. The vivid contrast between celestial light and earthly darkness speaks eloquently of the drama of divine intervention.
A technically daring work in which almost the entire plate is etched black, this was Rembrandt's first etching of a night scene. It represents a masterpiece in which the technical and expressive limits of the etching medium were extended to their utmost.
Excerpt from
Carl Wuellner, DMA label copy, 2003
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- Rijiksmuseum, Amsterdam~Check out this self portrait of Rembrandt c. 1628.
- YouTube~Watch this video about an exhibition at the Frick Collection, New York, from 2011 tilted Rembrandt and His School: Masterworks from the Frick and Lugt Collections.
- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops~Read the complete story of the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Luke including the visitation of the shepherds.
Notes
Created 1634
Checked Piction
December 2003
SRH, "The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds", in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas, TX: Dallas Museum of Art, 1997), 81.
Rembrandt van Rijn's fertile imagination and versatility are evident in the more than three hundred etchings he created during his lifetime. Dissatisfied with the limitation of conventional etching, Rembrandt often combined its process with engraving and drypoint techniques.
The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds illustrates the rich tonalities and textural effects that Rembrandt was able to achieve through his experimental methods. In contrast to the typical etching process, working from light to dark, Rembrandt conceived the composition as essentially dark highlighted areas, thereby intensifying the scene. By effacing the lines on the plate with a burnisher, he created the glowing highlihgts ont he town in the background and the dazzling effects of the angels' light.
Rembrandt was apparently fascinated by stories in which God's will is communicated through angels, and when depicting such scenes he stressed their sudden and miraculous aspects. In this print the angels appear in a burst of light which illuminates the otherwise shadowy landscape below. The dramatic gestures of the angels may reflect the influence of Rembrandt's contemporary Peter Paul Rubens, the Flemish master known for his baroque stylization of exuberant and dynamic figures. At the same time, the meticulously detailed landscape reveals the importance of the realist tradition in seventeenth-century Holland. The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds is a particularly strong image, printed when the etched surface of the plate was still thoroughly saturated with the black ink.
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
van Rijn, Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606-1669)
Cultures
Geography
Depicted location: Bethlehem (inhabited place): TGN: 7001388
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
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1963.38
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