My prior Art posts can be found HERE.
How do we move away from being a civilization that produces art that causes comments like, “my five year old could make this,” back to being one that creates beauty and inspires deep questions? We must reject modernity and embrace tradition. To embrace tradition, we must first learn about it..
Let’s study art history together.
The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds
| Artist | Rembrandt van Rijn |
|---|---|
| Year | 1634 |
| Medium | Etching and drypoint; third state of three |
| Movement | Dutch Golden Age painting |
| Dimensions | 14 1/4 x 11 3/8 in. (36.2 x 28.9 cm) plate: 10 1/4 x 8 11/16 in. (26.1 x 22 cm) |
| Location | The Sam Josefowitz Collection |
This is a visually fascinating piece, both because of the scene depicted and the manner through which Rembrandt does it.
Luke 2: 8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”[a]15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
The Gospel of Luke, though similar to the other synoptic Gospels of Matthew and Mark, has the unique characteristic of seeming to have been written with the help of – or at least after an interview with – the Mother of Jesus. That’s most readily apparent in the book’s early chapter and its richer detail regarding the events surrounding the Nativity. We get a nod toward this being part of Mary’s remembrances in a couple of places in the book, including in verse 19 above.
The scene of the angels appearing to the shepherds is a part of the Christian art tradition, but not as large a part as many other scenes from the New Testament. Perhaps the challenge of depicting angels was one artists have not wanted to tackle. Fortunately, Rembrandt does not shy away from this scene and gives us a really interesting visualization.
Rembrandt created this masterpiece using etching and drypoint. What is that, you might ask? Let me explain:
Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. Drypoint is a printmaking technique where an image is incised into a plate using a sharp needle, creating a raised edge known as a burr that holds ink. This method is part of the intaglio family and is known for producing rich, velvety lines in prints.
Rembrandt thus did both of these things to create the image you see above. The technique worked well to create a night scene with interesting and ethereal contrasts between dark and light, and it is believed to have been one of Rembrandt’s first attempts at using etching for this purpose.
If you are hoping to go see this work of art yourself, though, you’ll have to hope that its private owner decides to display it. It has been part of The Sam Josefowitz Collection since 1981. Fret not, though, because the video below provides both a great history and review of the piece, but displays the work in excellent detail as well.
