Rijksmuseum

De aanbidding van de herders

Date

c. 1657

Medium

paper

Culture

Netherlands

Institution

Rijksmuseum

The adoration of the shepherds has often been depicted in graphic art. Rembrandt’s version is exceptional for the extreme rendering of the nocturnal gloom in the stable. To achieve this velvety darkness, he successively reduced the light in subsequent states. In this impression, he intensified the shadow around Joseph, so that only his book and the faces of Mary and the Christ Child are still illuminated.

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