Art Institute of Chicago

The Adoration of the Shepherds

Gerrit van BattemLinkedCulture matchlcp-2f8134c1ba7d

Date: late 1650s
Medium: White and gray opaque watercolor and black ink on cream laid paper prepared with brown wash
Culture: Netherlands
Department: Prints and Drawings
Institution: Art Institute of Chicago
Object ID: 185815

From the Art Institute of Chicago record

By preparing his paper with a dark-brown wash to which a white oil-based pigment was added, Gerrit van Battem achieved the strong and meaningful effect of light-dark contrast. In this Adoration scene Battem emphasized the wonder of the shepherds who come to greet the Christ child. Despite the scene’s nocturnal setting, so dark that the cow’s head in the background is barely visible, the divinity of the Christ child shines with an abundant brightness that causes the shepherds to raise their hands in amazement.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line: Gift of Dorothy Braude Edinburg to the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial Collection
Provenance: Possibly Louis Fabritius Dubourg (1693–1775), Amsterdam; sold, Amsterdam, Jan. 15, 1776, lot 82; Van den Brande (possibly Johan Pieter van den Brande (1707–1758)), Middelburg; by descent to E. C. Baron van Pallandt, Haarlem; sold, Mak van Waay, Amsterdam, Sept. 26, 1972, lot 275, to Mr. Saam Nijstad (1922–2011) and Mrs. Lily Nijstad-Einhorn, The Netherlands; sold, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, May 19, 2004, lot 111, to Dorothy Braude Edinburg, Brookline, Mass.; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2013.