The Stable in Bethlehem
c. 1520–40
Medium
Engraving in black on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Sheet, trimmed within platemark: 19.8 × 19.6 cm (7 13/16 × 7 3/4 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
78877
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
For this Nativity scene Gourmont used the backdrop of a caved-in classical building to herald the dawning of a new era. Much grander even in ruins than an actual stable would have been at the time of Jesus’s birth, the setting emphasizes the contrast between the elaborate architecture of Antiquity and the humble beginnings of Christianity. Only one documented painting and about thirty engravings testify to the extraordinary art of Jean de Gourmont. This, his most famous engraving, was completed...