Adoration of the Shepherds - Agostino Carracci

The Leonora Hall Gurley Memorial Collection

"Adoration of the Shepherds" by Agostino Carracci (c. 1580-1600) Pen and brown ink, over black chalk, with incising, on tan laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper.

Commentary

"Adoration of the Shepherds" by Agostino Carracci (c. 1580-1600) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include medieval, pen and ink drawings. This piece is held in the source collec tion's Prints and Drawings collection. Agostino Carracci is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: Attributed to Agostino Carracci Italian, 1557-1602. The work is cataloged within a Italy cultural context. It is associated with the medieval period. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as pen and ink drawings, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Pen and brown ink, over black chalk, with incising, on tan laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (39.7 × 26 cm (15 11/16 × 10 1/4 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include medieval, pen and ink drawings. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/81003

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data