The Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1552): Art, History and Details

The Adoration of the Shepherds (c. 1552) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Battista Franco (Italian, c. 1510–1561).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Battista Franco was one of Michelangelo’s most devoted followers: his biographer Giorgio Vasari wrote that he drew every figure on the master’s Sistine Chapel ceiling. In Franco’s own works, such as this print, he made new, inventive compositions that emulated Michelangelo without directly copying or quoting his works. The print depicts the group of shepherds who visited the Christ child shortly after his birth. Franco used twisting, active poses and emphasized anatomy and musculature, creating distinct groups of figures in the foreground and background. Guided by a host of angels, the shepherds’ twisting bodies, pointing gestures, and directional gazes—mirrored by those of an ass and a cow—offer witness to the miraculous birth. Groups of men conversing in the background offer a more intellectual approach to the miracle, while Joseph gazes calmly and contemplatively from the right.

Object facts

• Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds
• Date: c. 1552
• Creator attribution: Battista Franco (Italian, c. 1510–1561)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: Etching and engraving
• Dimensions: Platemark: 37.5 x 51 cm (14 3/4 x 20 1/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 2017.107

Collection credit

Alma Kroeger Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Peters, Emily J. and Wehn, James. “Acquisition Highlights: Prints.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 58, no. 2 (March/April 2018): 14-15.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.