The Adoration of the Shepherds
ca. 1560 (?)
Medium
Etching
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927
Accession Number
27.78.2(51)
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intimate glow of *The Adoration of the Shepherds*, Venetian artist Andrea SchiavoneAndrea Meldola, c. 1522–1563) captures a moment from the Nativity story. Created around 1560 as an etching, this print depicts humble shepherds kneeling before the infant Jesus, cradled by the Virgin Mary, with Saint Joseph nearby and angels hovering in reverence. Schiavone, a Dalmatian-born painter influenced by Titian and Parmigianino, blended Renaissance naturalism with emerging Mannerist elegance, infusing the scene with emotional warmth and dynamic composition. Etching, a relatively new technique in...
About the Artist
Andrea Schiavone (Andrea Meldola) · 1510–1563
Andrea Schiavone, born Andrea Meldolla around 1510 or 1515 in Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), in Venetian-ruled Dalmatia, hailed from a family rooted in Meldola near Forlì in Romagna, Emilia-Romagna. His father, Simon Meldolla, served as a garrison commander there, and both parents originated from Meldola, where the family held property into the early 16th century. Nicknamed "Schiavone"—"the Slav"—a...