1556
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
The Birth of the Virgin is a 1556 ink by Giovanni Battista Fontana, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a group of people in a dimly lit room. A woman sits on a bed, holding a baby while two others kneel beside her. A man stands in the background, looking upward at a draped canopy with ornate designs. The scene feels quiet and intimate, with soft folds in the clothing and careful attention to faces. The artist used fine lines to create shadows and textures, making the scene feel almost three-dimensional. This style was common in Renaissance etchings, where artists experimented with shading and detail. Next, look up etching to see how artists like Fontana made prints like this.
Giovanni Battista Fontana (1524 – 25 September 1587) was an Italian painter and engraver.
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