Kerstnacht (Christmas Eve)
Medium
lithograph printed in black on buff wove paper
Dimensions
image: 40.4 × 20.2 cm (15 7/8 × 7 15/16 in.) sheet: 48.7 × 30.5 cm (19 3/16 × 12 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Nancy Jane and Alan Shestack
Accession Number
2020.155.3
Art Historical Context
**Kerstnacht (Christmas Eve)**, created by Dutch artist Theodoor van Hoytema in 1894, captures the quiet magic of the holiday season through a delicate lithograph printed in black ink on buff wove paper. Measuring 40.4 × 20.2 cm, this intimate print invites viewers into a nocturnal winter scene, evoking the serene traditions of Christmas Eve in late 19th-century Netherlands. Hoytema, renowned for his lyrical depictions of nature and animals, often infused his works with a poetic sensitivity, blending realism with subtle fantasy. Lithography, the medium here, was a revolutionary technique by t...