The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds
Medium
etching, burin and drypoint
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.7094
Art Historical Context
In the hushed glow of a pastoral night, Rembrandt van Rijn's *The Angel Appearing the Shepherds* (4) captures a pivotal biblical moment from the Gospel of Luke: angel's divine announcement of Christ's birth to shepherds. Created early in Rembrandt's prolific career during the Dutch Golden Age, this exemplifies his mastery of Baroque drama, where light pierces the darkness to symbolize revelation and hope. The artist's empathetic portrayal of ordinary folk—startled yet reverent—reflects the era's Protestant emphasis on personal faith over grandeur. Rembrandt revolutionized printmaking with thi...
About the Artist
Rembrandt van Rijn · 1606–1669
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) stands as one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art and the most important Dutch painter of the 17th century. Born in Leiden to a prosperous miller's family, Rembrandt transformed painting through his revolutionary use of light and shadow, his psychological depth in portraiture, and his elevation of etching to a fine art. His approx...