Adoration of the Shepherds (Lorenzo di Credi)
Encyclopedia
The Adoration of the Shepherds is a painting by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Renaissance painter Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi
Lorenzo di Credi was an Italian Renaissance painter and sculptor. He first influenced Leonardo da Vinci and then was greatly influenced by him.-Life:...

, dating to about 1510. It is displayed in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

.

History

The painting, commissioned by the nuns of Santa Chiara in Florence, is mentioned by the contemporary painter Mariotto Albertinelli
Mariotto Albertinelli
Mariotto di Bigio di Bindo Albertinelli was a High Renaissance Italian painter of the Florentine school, closely involved with Fra Bartolomeo and influenced by Raphael.-Biography:Mariotto Albertinelli was born in Florence...

 and by the art biographer Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari
Giorgio Vasari was an Italian painter, writer, historian, and architect, who is famous today for his biographies of Italian artists, considered the ideological foundation of art-historical writing.-Biography:...

, as well as in Florence's art guides from the late 17th century.

There are several preparatory studies, now at the Albertina
Albertina
The Albertina is a museum in Vienna, Austria, containing the world's best collection of old master prints and drawings.Albertina, a feminine adjectival form of Albert , may also refer to:...

 of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, the Cabinet des Dessins of Paris (the figure of St. Joseph) and the Gabinetto dei disegni e delle stampe at the Uffizi (for the lamb hold by a shepherd).

Description

Under a ruined hut (a symbol of the declining pagan and Hebraic religions, is depicted the adoration of Jesus, who lies on a veil over a pile of straw; Jesus' features are similar to those used in some Verrocchio's works. On the left, in a semicircle, are a shepherd with a lamb (symbol of Christ's sacrifice) looking on the left (inspired by Perugino), two praying shepherds inspired by the Portinari Triptych
Portinari Triptych
The Portinari Altarpiece or Portinari Triptych is an oil on wood triptych painting by the Flemish painter Hugo van der Goes representing the Adoration of the shepherds....

 and perhaps Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Among his many apprentices was Michelangelo.-Early years:Ghirlandaio's full name is given as Domenico di Tommaso di Currado di Doffo Bigordi...

, the Virgin, two standing and one kneeling angel with red clothes, and a standing St. Joseph, also inspired by Perugino. The Virgin and the angels are instead similar to features used by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...

 in works such as the Virgin of the Rocks
Virgin of the Rocks
The Virgin of the Rocks is the name used for both of two paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, of the same subject, and of a composition which is identical except for two significant details...

.

External links

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