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The Portinari Triptych (c. 1475) is an oil on wood triptych
Triptych

A triptych is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three Wood carving panels which are hinged together and folded. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works; the diptych has two panels....
 painting by the Flemish
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
 painter Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes

Hugo van der Goes was a Flemish painter. He was, along with Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling and Gerard David, one of the most important of the Early Netherlandish Painting....
 representing the Adoration of the shepherds
Adoration of the shepherds

The Adoration of the shepherds, in the Nativity of Jesus in art, is a scene in which shepherds are near witnesses to Nativity of Jesus, at his birthplace, typically depicted as a barn, near Bethlehem....
.

The work was commissioned for the church of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence
Florence

Florence is the Capital city of the Italy Regions of Italy of Tuscany and of the provinces of Italy Province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 364,779 ....
 by the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 banker Tommaso Portinari
Tommaso Portinari

Tommaso Portinari was an Italian banker for the Medici Bank in Bruges. He was a member of a prominent Florence family that had included Dante Alighieri's muse, Beatrice Portinari....
, who lived for more than forty years in Bruges
Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, as a representative for the Medici
Medici

The M?dici family was a powerful and influential Florence family from the 14th to 18th century. The family had three popes , numerous rulers of Florence and later members of the French and English royalty....
 family's bank
Medici bank

The Medici Bank was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during the 15th century. There are some estimates that the Medici family was for a period of time the wealthiest family in Europe....
. Portinari himself is depicted on the left panel with his two sons Antonio and Pigello; his wife Maria di Francesco Baroncelli is shown on the right panel with their daughter Margarita.






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The Portinari Triptych (c. 1475) is an oil on wood triptych
Triptych

A triptych is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three Wood carving panels which are hinged together and folded. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works; the diptych has two panels....
 painting by the Flemish
Flanders

Flanders is a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. Over the course of history, the geographical territory that was called "Flanders" has varied....
 painter Hugo van der Goes
Hugo van der Goes

Hugo van der Goes was a Flemish painter. He was, along with Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling and Gerard David, one of the most important of the Early Netherlandish Painting....
 representing the Adoration of the shepherds
Adoration of the shepherds

The Adoration of the shepherds, in the Nativity of Jesus in art, is a scene in which shepherds are near witnesses to Nativity of Jesus, at his birthplace, typically depicted as a barn, near Bethlehem....
.

The work was commissioned for the church of the hospital of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence
Florence

Florence is the Capital city of the Italy Regions of Italy of Tuscany and of the provinces of Italy Province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany and has a population of 364,779 ....
 by the Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 banker Tommaso Portinari
Tommaso Portinari

Tommaso Portinari was an Italian banker for the Medici Bank in Bruges. He was a member of a prominent Florence family that had included Dante Alighieri's muse, Beatrice Portinari....
, who lived for more than forty years in Bruges
Bruges

Bruges is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, as a representative for the Medici
Medici

The M?dici family was a powerful and influential Florence family from the 14th to 18th century. The family had three popes , numerous rulers of Florence and later members of the French and English royalty....
 family's bank
Medici bank

The Medici Bank was the largest and most respected bank in Europe during the 15th century. There are some estimates that the Medici family was for a period of time the wealthiest family in Europe....
. Portinari himself is depicted on the left panel with his two sons Antonio and Pigello; his wife Maria di Francesco Baroncelli is shown on the right panel with their daughter Margarita. All, except Pigello, are accompanied by their patron saints: Saint Thomas (with the spear), Saint Anthony
Anthony the Great

Anthony the Great , also known as Saint Anthony, Anthony the Abbot, Anthony of Egypt, Anthony of the Desert, Anthony the Anchorite, Abba Antonius , and Father of All Monks, was an Christianity saint from Egypt, a prominent leader among the Desert Fathers....
 (with the bell), Mary Magdalen (with the pot of ointment) and Saint Margaret
Saint Margaret

Saint Margaret may refer to:...
 (with the book and the dragon).

On the central panel, three shepherd
Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends to, feeds or guards sheep, especially in flocks. The word may also refer to one who provides religious guidance, as a pastor....
s fall on their knees before the child Jesus
Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
. Van der Goes painted these rustic characters very realistically. Kneeling angels surround the Virgin and the Child, which is not in a crib, but lies directly on the ground, surrounded by an aureole of golden rays. This unusual representation of the adoration of Jesus is probably based on one of the visions of Saint Bridget of Sweden.

In the background, van der Goes painted scenes related to the main subject: on the left panel, Joseph
Saint Joseph

Joseph "of the House of David" is known from the New Testament as the husband of Mary, mother of Jesus and although according to Christian tradition he was not the biological father of Jesus, he acted as his foster-father and as head of the Holy Family....
 fleeing to Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
 with his pregnant wife; on the central panel (to the right), the shepherds visited by the angel; on the right panel, the Three Magi on the road to Bethlehem
Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestine city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism....
.

The lovely still life
Still life

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made in an artificial setting....
 in the foreground, with the two vases of flowers and the sheaf of wheat (which recalls Bethlehem
Bethlehem

Bethlehem is a Palestine city in the central West Bank, approximately south of Jerusalem, with a population of about 30,000 people. It is the capital of the Bethlehem Governorate of the Palestinian National Authority and a hub of Palestinian culture and tourism....
, "the house of bread"), probably alludes to the Eucharist and the Passion. The wheat refers to the Last Supper, where Christ broke the bread. The orange lilies symbolize the Passion and the white irises
Iris (plant)

Iris is a genus of between 200-300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species....
 purity, while the purple irises and the columbine
Aquilegia

Aquilegia is a genus of about 60-70 species of columbines, herbaceous perennial plants that are found in meadows, woodlands, and at higher altitudes throughout the Northern Hemisphere....
 stalks represent the seven sorrows of the Virgin. Thus, this scene of the birth of Jesus prefigures the Salvation by his death.

When the work arrived in Florence in 1483, it was deeply admired by the Italian artists who saw it, many of whom sought to emulate it. A good example is the Adoration of the Shepherds (1485) which Domenico Ghirlandaio
Domenico Ghirlandaio

Domenico Ghirlandaio was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Among his many apprentices was Michelangelo....
 painted in the Sassetti Chapel
Sassetti Chapel

The 'Sassetti Chapel' is a chapel in the basilica of Santa Trinita in Florence, Italy. It is especially notable for its frescoes of the Stories of St....
 in the church of Santa Trinita
Santa Trinita

Santa Trinita is a church in central Florence, Italy. It is the mother church of the Vallumbrosan Order of monks, founded in 1092 by a Florentine nobleman....
 in Florence. However, the naturalistic depiction of the shepherds is already present in Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna

Andrea Mantegna was a Venetian Renaissance artist, a student of Ancient Rome archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective , e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality....
's Adoration of the Shepherds (Metropolitan Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile, New York City in New York City, USA....
, New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
), which dates from around 1450.