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Adoration of the Shepherds

ca. 1500
Not on view
Essentially a small painting on parchment, this image appears to have been created as an independent object for private devotion. According to a letter of 1591 formerly pasted onto its reverse, which refers to it as a "tablet," the miniature once belonged to the Medici pope Clement VII (r. 1523–34) and in 1591 was given as a gift by Pope Gregory XIV to Christine of Lorrain, grand duchess of Tuscany. As stated in the letter, she would be granted plenary indulgence for her sins every time she prayed before the image "for the Salvation of the Christian religion and the Church, in the struggle against heresy." The work is among the rare surviving masterpieces by Francesco Marmitta da Parma, who was active as a goldsmith, engraver of gems, painter, and illuminator.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Adoration of the Shepherds
  • Artist: Francesco di Marco Marmitta da Parma (Emilian, 1457–1505)
  • Date: ca. 1500
  • Medium: Tempera and gold on parchment
  • Dimensions: 9 5/8 x 6 in. (24.4 x 15.2 cm)
  • Classification: Manuscripts and Illuminations
  • Credit Line: Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
    1975.1.2491
  • Object Number: 1975.1.2491
  • Curatorial Department: The Robert Lehman Collection

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