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The Adoration of the Shepherds

1374
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 08
Once the central panel of an altarpiece, this painting simultaneously depicts the Adoration of the Christ Child and the Annunciation to the Shepherds, shown in the upper right. To create clear spatial relationships, the artist employed overlapping planes and daring, if naive, perspective—most evident in the projecting roof of the stable. The setting of the narrative combines the Byzantine tradition of representing the Adoration in a cave with the Western iconography of a stable. This panel may have been flanked by single panels depicting standing saints.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds
  • Artist: Bartolo di Fredi (Italian, active by 1353–died 1410 Siena)
  • Date: 1374
  • Geography: Made in Siena, Tuscany, Italy
  • Culture: Italian
  • Medium: Tempera on poplar, gold ground
  • Dimensions: Overall: 69 1/8 x 45 1/8 in. (175.6 x 114.6 cm)
    Painted surface: 63 1/4 x 45 1/8 in. (160.7 x 114.6 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings-Panels
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1925
  • Object Number: 25.120.288
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
The Adoration of the Magi, Bartolo di Fredi Italian, Tempera and gold on wood
The Adoration of the Magi
Bartolo di Fredi
ca. 1390
Portal from the Church of San Leonardo al Frigido, Biduinus Italian, Marble (Carrara marble), Italian
Portal from the Church of San Leonardo al Frigido
Workshop of Biduinus
ca. 1175
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond, Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso Italian, Poplar wood, linen, polychromed and gilded gesso with panel painted in tempera and gold, Italian, Florence
Cassone with painted front panel depicting the Conquest of Trebizond
Attributed to workshop of Apollonio di Giovanni di Tomaso
and workshop of Marco del Buono Giamberti
after ca. 1461
Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence, Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint, British
Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence
British
ca. 1180
Dish, Earthenware, tin-glaze (Majolica), Italian
Dish
Italian
early 15th century

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