Christmas

Christmas 1850 by Samuel Palmer (1805-1881). Etching

This state 4 of 5 etching is an impression made by the artist's son Alfred Herbert Palmer. The image shows a moonlit scene of a shepherd, accompanied by three young children and a dog, guiding the last of his flock of sheep into a wooden sheepfold beside a small thatched cottage standing to left of composition. The cottage door stands open, shedding light on the scene outside; inside, a woman lays the table for supper. Trees frame the composition to both left and right. Palmer cleverly juxtaposes silvery moonlight and glowing lamplight to make this one of his most successful etchings.

This is Palmer’s fourth etching. It is based on a poem by John Codrington Bampfylde (1754–1796):

With footsteps slow, in furry pall yclad,

His brows enwreathed with holly never sere,

Old Christmas comes to close the waned year,

And aye the shepherd’s heart to make right glad;

Who, when his teeming flocks are homeward had,

To blazing hearth repairs, and nut-brown beer;

And views well pleased the ruddy prattlers dear

Hug the grey mongrel….

Palmer was a meticulous etcher. Working from paper studies he spent days perfecting his initial composition until it was faultless. He worked repeatedly on the same plate until he achieved his desired effect. Palmer arranged for a professional to print his plates and provided detailed notes on how he wished them to be printed.

Samuel Palmer is considered to be one of Britain’s most original artists, and a key figure in the Romantic movement.