Study for The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds
Artist
Thomas Cole
(American, 1801 - 1848)
Date1831
MediumOil on board
Dimensions7 x 8 3/4 in. (17.8 x 22.2 cm)
Overall, Frame: 11 x 13 in. (27.9 x 33 cm)
Overall, Frame: 11 x 13 in. (27.9 x 33 cm)
ClassificationsAmerican art
Credit LineMuseum purchase
Object number86.193
Terms
- Angel
- Shepherds
- Blue
- Black
- Green
- White
- Yellow
- Pink
- Red
- Sketch
- Study
- Hudson River School
- Pastoral
- Florence, Italy
On View
Not on viewLabel TextThomas Cole American, 1801–1848 Studies for The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, ca. 1831 Oil on board In Florence in 1831, Thomas Cole made sketches for a large painting of the angel Gabriel announcing the birth of Jesus to awe-struck shepherds. A palm tree suggests the exotic Mediterranean location of this biblical event. The artist ultimately moved the palm within the final composition and reduced the number of shepherds from four to three. Arranged in sequence from youngest to oldest, the shepherds embody three stages of life: youth, manhood, and old age. Like The Voyage of Life, this work demonstrates Cole’s talent in depicting both realistic landscape details and imaginative supernatural events. Museum purchase 86.193 Museum purchase with funds from the Armour Foundation 84.32