The Adoration of the Shepherds
1805
Medium
pen and brown ink with brown wash and blue gouache heightened with white on wove paper mounted to board
Dimensions
image: 22.9 × 32.9 cm (9 × 12 15/16 in.) sheet: 34.7 × 44.7 cm (13 11/16 × 17 5/8 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Julius S. Held Collection, Avalon Fund
Accession Number
1984.3.72
Art Historical Context
Benjamin West's *The Adoration of the Shepherds (1805) captures a tender moment from the Nativity story, where humble shepherds gather to worship the infant Christ, bathed in divine light. As a leading neoclassical artist and second president of London's Royal Academy, West was renowned for his dramatic history paintings that blended biblical narratives with classical grandeur. This drawing, housed in the National Gallery of Art's Julius S. Held Collection, exemplifies his skill in preparatory works, offering insight into his meticulous process before grand canvases. Crafted in pen and brown ...
About the Artist
Benjamin West · 1738–1820
Benjamin West, born on October 10, 1738, in Springfield, Pennsylvania, emerged as one of the most influential painters of his era despite being entirely self-taught. Growing up in a Quaker family in colonial America, West displayed prodigious talent from childhood, creating portraits and religious scenes with materials gifted by local patrons. By his late teens, he had garnered enough support to t...