This plate is one of the last engravings by Goltzius before he abandoned printmaking in 1598 in favour of painting, passing his printing activities to his son-in-law, Jacob Matham. This is confirmed by the engraved inscription which indicates that Goltzius was fully responsible for the composition, and that Matham only acted as the publisher. The reasons for it remaining incomplete are unknown and, given the exceptional beauty of the engraving, something of a mystery. To modern eyes, the unfinished appearance seems intentional. However, as Peter Parshall pointed out, Goltzius's commitment to highly refined, virtuoso work with the burin, and the mannerist inclination to fill out any composition speak against a deliberate decision to leave the plate in an unfinished state (see: P. Parshall, 'Unfinished Business: The Problem of Resolution in Printmaking', in: The Unfinished Print, p. 17). In addition to this, Goltzius was reputedly very particular about his output, not exposing anything to the public until it was to his complete satisfaction. A likely explanation is that Matham may have released the Adoration of the Shepherds as a posthumous tribute to the virtuosity of his father-in-law and mentor. The plate was later reworked with engraved lines delineating the 'completed' contours of the image, and in the process destroying the singular appeal and beauty of the original composition. Only the present first state can be attributed exclusively to Goltzius himself.
Unfinished prints, like the Adoration of the Shepherds and a few others, were to be become an important influence on Rembrandt, who developed the idea further, either by intentionally leaving parts of his compositions incomplete or by producing so-called 'study sheets' - etchings which looked like swiftly sketched drawings.
The present print must have attracted Klaus Hegewisch's interest for its unfinished quality, fascinated as he was in artistic process.