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Work 1,050 of 2,421
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* This information may change as the result of ongoing research.
Andrea Mantegna (Italian, Paduan, born no later than 1430, died 1506)
The Adoration of the Shepherds
shortly after 1450
Tempera on canvas, transferred from wood
Overall 15 3/4 x 21 7/8 in. (40 x 55.6 cm); painted surface 14 7/8 x 21 in. (37.8 x 53.3 cm)
Purchase, Anonymous Gift, 1932
32.130.2
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. It may have been commissioned by Borso d'Este, duke of Ferrara, and its style seems to be a response to the ideas of his court humanists, who admired detailed description. Although slightly cut down on the right side, and transferred from wood to canvas, the painting is in excellent condition.