The Shepherd find the Child Jesus lying in a manger

DateCa. 1715

Artist/Maker Arnold Houbraken 1660-1719

Artist/Maker Vander Gouwen

OriginEurope, Netherlands, Amsterdam

MediumBlack & white line engraving

DimensionsOH: 16" x OW: 10 1/4"; Plate: 14" x 8 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1979-422

DescriptionLower margin reads: "Luc. II: 16./ [Inscription in Hebrew]/ The shepherds find the CHild JEsus lying in a manger./ Die birten dinden Jesus in der krippe./ PASTORES INVENIUNT JESUM INFANTEM./ Les Bergers trouvent Jesus couché dans la crêche/ De Herders vinden het Kindeken in de Kribbe./ A. Houbraken del./ Vander Gouwen scu(?)"Label TextScripture print based on Luc. II: 16. "And they went with haste, (the shepherds) and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger." Mary and Joseph and child have moved from the tent into a stable. They rest on a bed of straw. Mary holds the child, Jesus, as the shepherds gatehrround. One holds a lantern towards the child in order to see him better. A crumbling partition holds back the farm animals.ProvenanceBefore 1979, Lucien Goldschmidt [1912-1992] (New York, NY); 1979-present, purchased by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).