Adoration of the Shepherds 1518 - 1564

Aertgen Claesz. van Leyden made this drawing, Adoration of the Shepherds, using pen and gray ink, with gray wash, during the Northern Renaissance. He was working in a period where the Catholic church was losing some of its cultural authority. Here we see the birth of Christ, the savior of the world, witnessed by shepherds. The work’s formal qualities of muted color and simple composition emphasize the shepherds’ humble status, and the quiet dignity of the moment. But look closer, and you’ll notice that the scene seems to take place among classical ruins, with a donkey peering over the manger. This collapsing of historical time suggests the coming of a new era out of the past. The adoration of the shepherds goes beyond a depiction of a biblical event; it's a meditation on the human experience—a reminder that even in the grand narratives of history, there is room for empathy, humility, and perhaps most importantly, hope.