Currently not on view
Adoration of the Shepherds,
ca. 1552
Battista Franco, 1510–1561; born and died Venice, Italy
x1970-8
Primarily a painter, Franco was also an accomplished printmaker. The Adoration of the Shepherds was made after 1550, when the artist had returned to his native Venice after working in Rome, Florence, and Urbino. In this staging of the biblical story, several of the shepherds flanking the Holy Family are given dynamic poses, inspired by the athletic nudes in Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling frescoes, which Franco had studied carefully in Rome. In the background, Franco juxtaposes ancient ruins and contemporary buildings. Ruins frequently held a symbolic meaning during the Renaissance, especially in scenes of the Nativity and the Infancy of Christ, where they were meant to evoke the collapse of the ancient world and the dawn of the new Christian era.
Information
Title
Adoration of the Shepherds
Dates
ca. 1552
Maker
Medium
Etching and engraving
Dimensions
plate: 37.3 x 51.8 cm. (14 11/16 x 20 3/8 in.)
sheet: 37.5 x 52.7 cm. (14 3/4 x 20 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Laura P. Hall Memorial Fund
Object Number
x1970-8
Place Made
Europe, Italy
Inscription
Initialed in plate, lower right corner: B.F.V.F.
Reference Numbers
Bartsch 121.8
Type
Materials
Techniques
