The Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1520): Artwork and History

The Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1520) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Master HFE Italian, early 16th century.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Still unidentified by name, the 16th-century artist known as Master H. E. signed his curiously themed prints with an H. E. monogram. The Master H. E.’s Adoration of the Shepherds is an unusually windblown and eerie envisioning of the scene, set in an architectural framework more reminiscent of a ruined temple than a stable. The awestruck shepherds, the restless farm animals, and the harsh sun work together to suggest that the prints’ viewers as well are witnessing a momentous historical event, one tinged here with a hint of the supernatural.

Object facts

• Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds
• Date: c. 1520
• Artist attribution: Master HFE Italian, early 16th century
• Place of origin: Italy
• Medium: Engraving on paper
• Dimensions: 30.7 × 22.8 cm (12 1/8 × 9 in.)
• Type: Print
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1956.1028

Collection credit

Bequest of Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.

View the original

Explore the artwork in the Art Institute's collection, including its image and the museum's current catalogue details.

The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.