Item Info
Source: Print and Picture Collection
Notes:
Dutch painter, draftsman, and printmaker.
Signed lower right.
"And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger." Luke 2:16
This print was part of an outstanding cycle of six prints by Rembrandt representing the childhood of Jesus. The five other prints in the cycle included The Circumcision in The Stable, The Flight into Egypt, The Holy Family, Twelve-year old Jesus in the Temple, and Jesus Returns from the Temple with His Parents.
A small oil lamp illuminates this scene which is occurring in a byre or cow barn. On the left, the shepherds including one bagpipper crowd to see the Christ child while on the right Joseph sits on an upturned wheelbarrow. Two cows on the left indicate that the scene occurs in a byre.
Bibliography:
Referenced in:
A. von Bartsch: Catalogue raisonne de toutes les estampes qui forment l'oeuvre de Rembrandt et ceux de ses principaux imitateurs (Vienna, 1797), #45.
Hoekstra, Hidde. Rembrandt and the Bible: Stories from the Old and New Testament, Illustrated by Rembrandt in Paintings, Etchings and Drawings. Magna Books, c1990, p. 235. 759.9 R282HO (Art Reference)
Rembrandt: All the Etchings Reproduced in True Size. (London: Oresko Books Ltd, c.1977). 769.92 R282R (Art Reference)
Creation Year: ca. 1654
Image Dimensions Width: 13 cm
Creator Name: Rembrandt van Rijn, 1606-1669 - Artist