This is Rembrandt’s first etched night scene. Produced at a relatively early period in his career, this would undoubtedly have been his most spectacular print to date. The scene depicts the angel appearing to the shepherds with news of Christ’s birth. The composition reflects the drama of the event, and draws on the theatrical swirling style of contemporary Baroque painting. The herdsmen and their animals scatter in terror at this apparition, and appear tiny in relation to the grandly conceived landscape.
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, 1606 - 1669)
Rembrandt is perhaps the most renowned, influential and inventive of all Dutch artists. In his oil paintings, he represented a wide range of subjects, including single portraits, group portraits, self-portraits and biblical and mythological scenes. He explored the dramatic potential of light and shadow not only through paintings, but also through his innovative printmaking (etching) and fluid, inventive draughtsmanship. Rembrandt’s began his career in his native Leiden. After moving to Amsterdam, he enjoyed great success, which continued throughout his long career. Towards the end of his life, he underwent personal and financial difficulties, but remained a respected artist until his death in 1669.
