Adoration of the Shepherds c. 18th century

Curator: This is Francesco Rosaspina's "Adoration of the Shepherds," an etching rendered in a warm sepia tone. Editor: It strikes me as deeply classical, almost theatrical, in its composition. The bodies are idealized, the poses dramatic. Curator: Absolutely. Rosaspina, active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, was working within a period grappling with Enlightenment ideals and Neoclassical aesthetics, attempting to reconcile faith with reason. Editor: The shepherd offering the lamb certainly evokes the symbolism of sacrifice, prefiguring Christ's own. And yet, there’s also a tenderness in the way he presents it. Curator: Perhaps Rosaspina hoped to capture the complexities of religious belief during a period of immense social change. Editor: It leaves me pondering the enduring power of those archetypal images. Curator: Indeed, the convergence of divine and human, ever present.