Adoration of the Shepherds

Engraving, 1504 circa, signed with monogram 'MAF' on the end of the pillow Christ rests on. First state.

Good example, printed on contemporary laid paper, with “foolscap” watermark, trimmed close to platemark, a restoration in the upper right corner, otherwise in good condition.

Shoemacker, The engravings of Marcantonio Raimondi, p. 52, n. 1: “[…]The “Adoration of Shepherds”, acknowleged to be one of the Marcantonio’s earliest engravings, includes several motifs borrowed from Francia’s “Adoration of Shepherds” altarpiece of 1499 (Bologna, Pinacoteca); he took over the figure of the Virgin, the central tree, and the broken arch in the background. The mannered gesture of the shepherd leaning on his staff may also be borrowed from a figure in Francia's Nativity (Bologna, Pinacoteca). Folds has suggested that the shepherd crouched in the lefthand corner of the engraving was based upon an ancient model, noting also that the figure displays an early attempt on Marcantonio's part to render the sculptural qualities of an ancient nude. Although no sources are known for the other figures, the additive character of the composition makes it easy to imagine that Marcantonio created it piecemeal by combining figures from paintings and drawings that came from Francia's workshop.

The figures fill the width of the foreground plane, and the background opens into a vast distance that is connected with the foreground in only rudimentary fashion. One senses again the piecemeal approach of the artist, who seems to have borrowed the central group of trees and distant towers from the background of one of Dürer's prints. Marcantonio clearly had trouble integrating the landscape with the ruined arch in the middleground. The hills and tree seen through the arch seem much nearer than the generalized mountains to the left of the pilasters. In an effort to fill an empty space Marcantonio even tilted the small fir tree beneath the arch.

Marcantonio’s engraving technique is fairly delicate in the “Adoration of the Shepherds”, and there are few strong contrasts of light and dark. He outlined the forms with fine contour lines and used closely-spaced parallel strokes for shading. The shading technique flattens the forms because the lines are straight rather than curving. Yet the rounded areas of light on the arms and legs of the figures, which Marcantonio created by limiting the lengths of the shading lines, indicate that he intended to suggest volume. To do this, Marcantonio disciplined and simplified his technique, a method that in slightly later prints like the “Pyramus and Thisbe” is more effective because of his more accom- plished figure style.”