Italian school; first third of the XVII century.

Italian school; first third of the seventeenth century.
"Adoration of the shepherds".
Oil on agate.
It presents faults and restorations.
Measurements: 215 x 30 cm; 33 x 40,5 cm (frame).
This work 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 Baroque painters, who sought above all a natural and close art, which 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. In the center of the scene we see the Virgin kneeling before the Child awake 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. Next to them is the figure of Joseph. Both Mary and Joseph appear in profile. 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, so that the author introduces the viewer into the scene.
This piece is part of the Italian school that takes its references from the Greco-Latin classicism and the Renaissance of the early sixteenth century. Its style is based on the study of natural truth without abandoning a certain idealization. It is interesting to mention the support of this work since since the sixteenth century, began to popularize the use of stones as a base for painting, an example of this gave account of the exhibition held at the Prado Museum in 2018 "In lapide depictum", which brought together a set of nine works made on monochrome stone, slate and marble, made by artists such as Piombo, Titian, Daniele da Volterra and Leandro Bassano. In this particular case, the expressiveness of the alabaster contextualizes the scene, creating a warm and soft atmosphere that contrasts with the drama of the subject matter and gives greater prominence to the monumental figures that make up the image.