Adoration of the Shepherds
Mantegna, one of the prodigies of Italian painting, had already established his reputation by the age of eighteen. This work must have been painted when he was in his early twenties, and it already shows the painter's astonishing descriptive gifts fully developed.
Although the subject of the picture is traditional, Mantegna has incorporated details that give prominence to artistic achievement and also enhance the expressive treatment of the figures. He also incorporates a strategy of devotional literature of the period that urges the reader to imagine the Biblical events of the distant past in terms of contemporary, everyday life. The classically garbed figure of the sleeping Joseph thus serves as a counterpoint to the two shepherds, who are shown in tattered, contemporary dress, one with hands joined prayerfully, the other having doffed his hat; both about to kneel. The rocky foreground contrasts with the gentle green plane in the distance where, on the banks of the curving river, can be seen a shepherd greeted by an angel and a man with two barrels waiting for the arrival of a barge on the opposite bank; also shown is a seated woman spinning and chickens feeding. The Virgin is shown in rapt devotion, with her child lying on the hem of her robe in an audaciously foreshortened pose, his head surrounded by cherubim, their features highlighted with shell gold.
