About this artwork
Mary and Joseph watch over the Christ Child lying in the manger, while shepherds look in through the stable openings. The character of the figures, the stable architecture and general setting, relate to a well-known composition of the Nativity by Rogier van der Weyden (now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin). The prominent sheaf of grain may refer to Christ’s birth place, Bethlehem (meaning ‘House of Bread’), and also to bread’s symbolic role as the body of Christ in the Christian sacrament of the Mass. The panel was probably painted as an altarpiece in the late fifteenth century.
Updated before 2020
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artist:
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title:The Adoration of the Shepherds
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date created:Late 15th century
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materials:Oil on panel
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measurements:67.30 x 106.60 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Purchased 1921
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accession number:NG 1541
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gallery:
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depicted:
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subject:
Netherlandish School
Netherlandish School
If the identity of an artist who made a painting is not known, the work is often described as belonging to a national or regional school. This is because it appears to share stylistic characteristics with paintings by artists from that nation or region. So work that is similar in style to that...