Adoration of the Shepherds
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink and brush and black ink, with black and red ink washes, over black chalk, on ivory laid paper
- Dimensions
- 46.4 × 33.5 cm (18 5/16 × 13 1/4 in.)
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
drawings (visual works)inkpen and ink drawingslaid paperprints and drawingpaperbrush and ink
About
Here Francesco Fontebasso depicted the biblical story of the birth of Christ, pairing three astonished shepherds, who surround the Virgin and Child at center, with four angelic putti hovering above the humble manger. Joseph kneels in the right foreground. An independent work, not related to a painting, the drawing is densely layered. Different colors of ink and wash delineate the figures’ garments and the manger’s rough walls and capture the effects of celestial light.
