The Adoration of the Shepherds

Andrea Mantegna

shortly after 1450 · Tempera on canvas, transferred from wood · European Paintings

In clothing tattered from years of labor, a group of shepherds arrives to witness the newborn Christ Child. His birth was announced to them by angels, as seen in the upper right. The humble figures find the Holy Family resting in a mesmerizingly detailed landscape. Mantegna depicted the Virgin Mary and Christ Child as a portal between the natural world and the divine: the Virgin’s blue and gold robes extend into clouds filled with cherubs who swirl around the newborn. The painting may have been commissioned by Borso d’Este, the duke of Ferrara. Its style seems to be a response to the vogue for Netherlandish painting in Ferrara.

Artist

Andrea Mantegna

Date

shortly after 1450

Medium

Tempera on canvas, transferred from wood

Department

European Paintings

Credit line

Purchase, Anonymous Gift, 1932