Altaar met aanbidding door de herders 1705 - 1771

This is Balthasar Sigmund Setletzky’s “Altar with the Adoration of the Shepherds”, an etching created sometime before his death in 1771. The print illustrates the Nativity within an ornate, architectural framework, immediately evoking a sense of the sacred and theatrical. Notice the composition: Setletzky uses the altar structure to frame the scene, drawing our eye to the central event. The contrast between the detailed, almost baroque ornamentation of the frame and the softer, more ethereal depiction of the Nativity creates a visual tension. The vertical lines of the columns and the cascading figures of the angels and shepherds lead the eye upwards, culminating in the radiant light emanating from the heavens. Consider how the artist’s choices—the elaborate structure, the dynamic arrangement of figures, and the emphasis on light—function as signs within a cultural and religious context. The artwork invites reflection on the sacred made manifest through formal representation.