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| Artist | Attributed to Dietrich, Christian Wilhelm Ernst (German painter and printmaker, 1712-1774) |
| Previous attributions | Previously attributed to Ostade, Adriaen van (Dutch draftsman and painter, 1610-1685) Previously attributed to Mengs, Anton Raphael (German painter and critic, 1728-1779) |
| Title | Adoration of the Shepherds |
| Date earliest | possibly about 1750 |
| Date latest | possibly about 1820 |
| Material | oil on panel |
| Measurements | 35 x 27 cm |
| Description | The subject of the Adoration of the Shepherds presented an opportunity to depict a religious image populated by the sort of rustic types who usually appear in traditional Flemish and Dutch peasant scenes. Here the Holy Family is displaced from the centre of the composition by the adoring shepherds and animals. Since 1936 this painting has been associated with the prolific German artist Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich, who painted many New Testament scenes and who sometimes adopted the style of the 'small' Dutch masters. Alternatively it may have been painted by a follower of Dietrich or someone imitating his style. |
| Subject | religion (Adoration of the Shepherds, Virgin and Child, Christ, St Joseph, Holy Family, angel); animal (ox, sheep) |
| Collection | Holburne Museum of Art, Bath |
| Current accession number | A57 |
| Acquisition details | Bequeathed by Miss Mary Anne Barbara Holburne 1882. |
| Provenance | Sir Thomas William Holburne, by 1867-74; by descent to Mary Anne Barbara Holburne (1802-1882), 1874. |
| Principal publications | Catalogue of the Pictures and Library, Engravings, Etchings and Miniatures Belonging to Sir Thomas William Holburne, Bart., Bath, 1867, cat. no. 202, p. 8, as by Raffaelle Mengs; Chaffers, W., Catalogue of the Holburne of Menstrie Art Museum Bath, London, 1887, cat. no. 1521, p.75, as by Raffaelle Mengs; Moeckler, F., Holburne of Menstrie Art Museum, Bath, 1902, cat. no. 250, p. 8, as by unknown artst, in manner of Adraien van Ostade; Catalogue, Pictures and Miniatures, I, 1927, cat. no. 142, pp. 43-44, as by Dietrich, in the manner of B. Cuyp; The Holburne of Menstrie Museum, Catalogue, Pictures, I, Bath 1936, cat. no. 19, pp. 10-11, as by Dietrich; Wright, C., Old Master Paintings in Britain: An Index of Continental Old Master Paintings Executed before c. 1800 in Public Collections in the United Kingdom, London, 1976, p. 50. |
| Notes | Arched format. T. W. Holburne's seal on reverse of panel; inscription and stencil on reverse of panel, red paint: 'H. 3391 / HOLBURNE / BATH / MUSEUM'; T. W. Holburne's label on reverse, inscribed in ink: 'Adoration of the / Shepherds / by Raffaello Mengs'; modern labels on reverse. H. A. Buttery rejected the attribution 'after Ostade' and described A57 as 'a poor copy', 1906; attributed by Mr Alfred Jones to Benjamin Cuyp; attributed by Mr Alec Martin, Christie's, to Mengs; attributed by Mr Martin to Dietrich. |
| Rights status | © The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath |
| Author | Dr Susan Steer |
