Flemish school; end of the 16th century.

Flemish school; late sixteenth century.
"Adoration of the shepherds".
Oil on panel. Cradled.
Measurements: 78 x 109 cm; 90 x 121 cm (frame).
This panel represents a classic theme in the History of Art, that of the shepherds adoring the newborn baby Jesus in the portal of Bethlehem. It is a scene that lends itself to be interpreted as a large composition with numerous characters, worked in a costumbrista key, so it was very much to the taste of Baroque painters, who sought above all a natural and close art, which moved the mood of the faithful and made him feel confident or accomplice of what was represented in the work, despite being the Sacred history.
The Flemish school was characterized by the great influence of the Flemish primitives, which survived for a long time, largely due to the political and cultural ties between the two countries. Flemish painting was, in the 15th century, the most advanced in Europe, and influenced all national schools, including Italian. It was considered an art of enormous refinement, with works executed and treated as jewels. This consideration was also due to the very rich materials used in its execution, as well as the assemblies of the tables, which, as we see here, were of great richness. The features of the Flemish school are close to those of Flemish painting, starting with the maximum concern of the painters of Flanders, the search for reality above all else. In connection with this desire, enormous attention is paid to the qualities of the objects, as well as to the smallest details, often endowed with a symbolic charge. The iconography continues to be mainly religious, and in the scenes a correct and precise, very meticulous drawing will predominate. In the same way, they try to capture the truest possible illumination, whether artificial or natural, always modeling the flesh tones and producing chiaroscuro to a greater or lesser degree.