Skip to main content

The Adoration of the Shepherds: P.14974-R

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

The Adoration of the Shepherds

Maker(s)

Printmaker: Bernard, Samuel
Painter: Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (After)

Entities

Categories

Description

After the painting which is now thought to be by a pupil of Rembrandt (1606-1669), (1646; National Gallery, London, NG47, bought in 1924). A scene in a barn with Mary at the right presenting the Christ child to a pair of kneeling shepherds. The heavily swaddled child is surrounded by a glow which lights up the faces of the central group, Joseph to the left of Mary and two women who hold up an older child so that he can see the baby. More shepherds enter from the left, one carrying a lantern, and a boy with a dog kneels at the far left.

Notes

History note: VanSittart gave 1,485 engravings to the Fitzwilliam Museum in 1879 and this mezzotint was probably included within this group. The number written in graphite on the verso presumably relates to some kind of count by curators at the time of the acquisition. See, for example, P.14973-R and P.14975-R.

Legal notes

Given by Augustus Arthur VanSittart, ?1879

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1879) by VanSittart, Augustus Arthur

Note

Mezzotint, printed in black ink on laid paper, in reverse. State III as described by David Alexander (Rembrandt in Eighteenth Century England, Appendix C, 29, p.123). Signed on the plate at lower right: 'Bernard'. Engraved in the lower margin: 'L'Ange ayant annoncé aux bergers la nativité du Sauveur ... Luc Ch .2 . v. 16 .' with publication details below: 'a Paris chez la veuve Chereau rue S.t Jacques ...'. Watermark of a pendant ?cross with letters ?'G' and ?'D'. Inscribed on the verso in pen and ink: 'VanSittart Collection'; in graphite at the centre in large script: '430' (See Notes); in graphite at lower left: 'W.20' and at centre: 'm 9'.

School or Style

French

Techniques used in production

Mezzotint

Identification numbers

Accession number: P.14974-R
Primary reference Number: 240022
Nagler (Künstler-Lexicon): 1.5
Alexander (Rembrandt): 29.III/III (p.123)
Charrington (Rembrandt): 29.III/III
Lugt: L.2479ter
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Thursday 9 January 2020 Updated: Wednesday 11 January 2023 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Paintings, Drawings and Prints

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "The Adoration of the Shepherds" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/240022 Accessed: 2024-12-19 02:11:16

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/240022 |title=The Adoration of the Shepherds |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-19 02:11:16|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-240022

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...