Adoration of the Shepherds
Lorenzo di Credi, 1510
Adoration of the Shepherds is an oil on panel by Lorenzo di Credi, dated to around 1510 and now held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. According to the sources, it was commissioned by the nuns of Santa Chiara in Florence, and the painting is mentioned by a contemporary painter and by the art biographer Giorgio Vasari, which points to its early reputation. Several preparatory drawings survive, held in Vienna, Paris and the Uffizi itself, linked to figures such as Saint Joseph and the lamb carried by one shepherd.
The scene unfolds beneath a ruined hut, probably symbolising the decline of the pagan and Hebrew faiths before the new worship. The Christ Child lies on a veil above a heap of straw, with features resembling those in some works by Verrocchio, the artist's teacher. On the left, shepherds, the Virgin, angels in red robes and Saint Joseph gather in a semicircle. The lamb points to Christ's sacrifice. Several figures draw on models by Perugino, the Portinari Triptych and perhaps Ghirlandaio, while the Virgin and angels recall solutions Leonardo da Vinci used in works such as the Virgin of the Rocks.
- Painter
- Lorenzo di Credi
- Date
- 1510
- Medium
- oil paint, panel
- Dimensions
- 224 × 196 cm
- Museum
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence
- Genre
- religious art
- Depicts
- adoration of the shepherds, landscape, Saint Joseph, angel, Mary, lamb, shepherd, Christ Child
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