The Adoration of the Shepherds

Image credit: The National Gallery, London

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The Virgin Mary gazes down at the infant Christ Child, who lies on a woven manger: wisps of hay poke through the sides of the basketwork. Beside them Saint Joseph leans on a stick; on the right the shepherds look on in wonder, their humble gift of a lamb lying on the floor beside the manger. Other figures crowd around the edges and a small dog even perches its front paws on a step to get a better view of the baby. This is the Adoration of the Shepherds, as described in the Gospel of Luke (2: 16–17).

This painting entered the National Gallery’s collection, damaged and largely repainted, in 1884.Having been ascribed to both Spanish and Italian artists, recent conservation has revealed the painting to be a typical work by the idiosyncratic Neapolitan painter, Giovanni Battista Spinelli.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Adoration of the Shepherds

Date

before 1660

Medium

Oil on canvas

Measurements

H 153.3 x W 134 cm

Accession number

NG1157

Acquisition method

Presented by Woodford Pilkington, 1884

Work type

Painting

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The National Gallery, London

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