Adoration of the Shepherds

In the Gospel of Luke, it says that after the birth of Jesus an angel appeared to the shepherds who at night slept in the fields and announced to them the birth of the Lord. The shepherds travelled to Bethlehem to adore the Child. In the painting, the episode takes place in a humble hut. In the background, to the left, one glimpses the ox and the donkey. Mary and Joseph in the foreground are showing Jesus laying in the manger. The shepherds are depicted on the right, in postures of extreme devotion, and they bring modest gifts: a sheep, symbol of the sacrificial lamb, a shepherd’s crook, several flutes and a bag of provisions. The night is lit up by the glory of the angels streaming from above in a vortex of clouds.