Adoration of the Shepherds

One cannot overestimate Rembrandt's importance to 17th-century Dutch art. As one art historian put it, Rembrandt illuminated a whole generation of artists who fluoresced—some more, some less—in his brilliance. Jan van Noordt's charming etching Adoration of the Shepherds closely follows a well-known Rembrandt painting of 1646, borrowing its general compositional format, rustic sentiment, and even the luminous cradle that lights the nighttime scene. The intimate scale of the print and general technique further reveal van Noordt's careful study of Rembrandt's prints.