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This extraordinary painting is a unique depiction of the Adoration of the Shepherds. The Virgin Mary, Joseph and two shepherds cluster round the infant Christ; the ox and the donkey peer out of the darkness behind them. They are not, however, in a stable in Bethlehem, but gathered in front of a verdant grotto. Two trumpeting angels stand on the rocky outcrops while a host of angels overhead hold the instruments of the Passion (Christ’s torture and crucifixion). The scene is flanked by nine choirs of angels on clouds, who play drums, tambourines, portable organs, lyres and pipes.

This painting was probably made at the very end of the fifteenth century, a date which might help explain its meaning. It was commonly believed that the year 1500 – one and a half thousand years after the birth of Christ – would be marked by some kind of divine intervention in the world, an idea which might have been behind this very unusual painting.

The National Gallery, London

London

Title

The Adoration of the Shepherds with Angels

Date

about 1499

Medium

Oil on wood

Measurements

H 52.4 x W 37.5 cm

Accession number

NG3105

Acquisition method

Layard Bequest, 1916

Work type

Painting

The National Gallery, London

Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England

This venue is open to the public. Not all artworks are on display. If you want to see a particular artwork, please contact the venue.

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Artist or maker

Lorenzo Costa

c.1459/1460–1535

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