The Adoration of the Shepherds Gm-00017801

Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) Peter Paul Rubens created this drawing to be engraved for a new edition of the Brevarium Romanum, the Catholic prayer book or breviary. Among Rubens's most richly worked drawings for the Brevarium, this scene is notable for its nocturnal illumination. To create the effect of evening, he bathed the entire page in tones of brown wash. He then used white bodycolor to suffuse the onlookers in the Christ Child's miraculous holy light, a concept ultimately derived from Correggio's art.

In this sheet, Rubens's drawing betrays an artist who thinks primarily as a painter, softening outlines and building up shapes that then take on life and color. Even in this very finished drawing, he characteristically sacrificed detail to gain a sense of movement and energy.

For twenty-five years, Rubens supplied his boyhood friend Balthasar Moretus, head of Antwerp's Plantin Press, with illustrations for books ranging from the philosophy of Seneca to a treatise on optics. Moretus informed him well in advance about the illustrations required; during this time, Rubens jotted down many ideas that he worked into designs for engravings, as in this drawing.

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Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

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Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.