The Adoration of the Shepherds
1720–21
Medium
Black chalk heightened with white on blue paper.
Dimensions
16 3/4 x 8 in. (42.5 x 20.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1961
Accession Number
61.130.5
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the early 18th century, François Le Moyne, a leading French Rococo artist and pupil of Antoine Watteau, created *The Adoration of the Shepherds* around 1720–21. This intimate drawing captures the biblical Nativity scene, where humble shepherds gather to worship the Christ child, surrounded by Mary, Joseph, and angels. Le Moyne's fluid lines evoke the emerging Rococo style—elegant, graceful, and infused with emotional warmth—bridging Baroque grandeur with lighter, more decorative tendencies that would define French art. Executed in black chalk heightened with white on blue paper (16 3/4 x 8...