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Notes
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The thatched wooden stable is built in the ruins of a classical building with huge stone columns. This symbolises the end of the old pagan order and the beginning of the new Christian era. The scene is illuminated by the bright light that radiates from the infant Christ himself.
A little shepherd boy with bare buttocks sits on the stone steps blowing on a burning stick. This glowing ember forms a third light source in the painting but it is much fainter than the light coming from Christ.
Title
The Adoration of the Shepherds
Date
about 1600-25
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 65.4 x W 91.8 cm
Accession number
NG1858
Acquisition method
Bequeathed by Sir John May, 1847
Work type
Painting