Flemish master possibly MAERTEN DE VOS (Antwerp, 1532-1603); ca. 1600.

Flemish master possibly MAERTEN DE VOS (Antwerp, 1532-1603); ca. 1600.
"Adoration of the Shepherds".
Oil on panel.
Measurements: 52 x 93,5 cm.
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, a feature that was very much to the taste of the painters, who sought above all a natural and close art, that moved the mood of the faithful and made them feel close to what was represented on the canvas, to the sacred story. In this way, the divine elements are reduced to a minimum, with the breaking of Glory in this case relegated to the upper right corner. In the center of the scene we see the Virgin before the Child in his cradle, lifting the veil that covers him so that the shepherds can contemplate him, and adopting a completely everyday gesture that enhances the bond between mother and child. The rest of the composition is completed with the presence of several shepherds, located in different depth planes, but emphasizing an open circular composition in the foreground, in such a way that the author introduces the viewer into the composition itself.
Aesthetically the work is close to the painting of Maerten De Vos, a Flemish painter and draughtsman of late Mannerism. He was the son of the painter Pieter de Vos, from whom he must have received his first lessons in this art. It is believed that in 1552 he traveled to Italy together with Pieter Brueghel the Elder, passing through Florence, Rome, and Venice where he was a pupil of Tintoretto, adopting the mannerist style then in vogue. In 1556 he was back in Antwerp, entering in 1558 as a master in the painters' guild of the city. In 1560 he married Joanna Le Boucq with whom he had eight children, one of them also a painter, Marten de Vos the Younger (1576-1613). Among his most outstanding works are the altarpieces he painted for various associations in his native city: The Triumph of Christ (1590), The Temptations of St. Anthony (1594), St. Luke Painting the Virgin (1602) and The Wedding at Cana (1597). Among his portraits, The Anselmo Family stands out and among his mythological paintings, Apollo and the Muses, where he mixes realism and mannerism, recalling Pieter Aertsen and Tintoretto. As a draughtsman, he was especially active during the years 1580-1585, a period during which the Calvinists held power in Antwerp. He produced a total of more than 1600 drawings that served as models for the most important Dutch engravers of the time. Several of his most unique works are preserved in Spain, such as The Last Judgment (Museo de Bellas Artes de Sevilla), The Abduction of Europa (Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao) and a Descent from the Cross (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid). The Museo Lázaro Galdiano has two triptych wings (portraits of Martín Rodríguez de Arbieto and his wife Catalina as donors) attributed to this artist.