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Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich

Adoration of the Shepherds, 1730 - 1760

Description

Maker

  • Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich, 1712-1774, German

Title

Adoration of the Shepherds

Year

1730 - 1760

Medium

etching and drypoint on lightweight cream laid paper

Materials/Techniques

Supports

  • Light weight cream laid paper

Dimensions

Plate: 14.1 x 17.3 cm (5 9/16 x 6 13/16 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Verso: blindstamp of the collector Alexandre-Pierre-François Robert-Dumesnil (1778-1864; Lugt 2200)

Watermark: 'Maid of Dort' mark; maid in an enclosure with lion rampant and the words 'Pro Patria'

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Prints

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Murray S. Danforth

Object Number

49.007

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Visions and Revisions

February 15 - August 4, 2019

“I am the light of the world,” Jesus said to his apostles—a metaphor that generations of artists endeavored to visualize, particularly in depictions of his birth. In this arresting image, Dietrich, a court artist in Dresden, uses Rembrandt’s “dark manner”—and its basic tools of etching and drypoint—to achieve harmony between technique and subject matter.

A gifted imitator, Dietrich never developed a style of his own, but produced works in the manner of several older Italian and Dutch artists. Dietrich’s engagement with Rembrandt was profound, leading him to assemble his own collection of prints by the artist. This print, produced at the height of the Rembrandt mania of the 1700s, is one of Dietrich’s masterpieces.

Nativity and Epiphany Prints from the 15th to the 18th Centuries

December 5, 1951

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Adoration of the Shepherds with the accession number of 49.007. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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