File:Spello ChSMMaggiore Pinturicchio NativitaGesù+AdorazionePastori 1500-1501.jpg

(b. ca. 1454, Perugia, d. 1513, Siena)

The Adoration of the Shepherds 1501 Fresco Collegiata di Santa Maria Maggiore, Spello

The Adoration of the Shepherds on the end wall of the chapel presents idyllic scenery within a vast landscape and incorporates various secondary motifs. In the middle distance we see the annunciation to the shepherds, as a cluster of angels on a bank of cloud in front of the templelike stable sings of the birth of Christ. Of the many figures gathered in the foreground event of the adoration, the three shepherds stand out as being much too large, and with their crude, almost grimacing faces they are unlike anything else in Pinturicchio's repertoire of figures. They were inspired by the <A onclick="return OpenOther('/html/g/goes/portinar/index.html')" HREF="/html/g/goes/portinar/index.html">Portinari Altarpiece</A> by Hugo van der Goes. The Portinari Altarpiece and other imported works by Flemish masters had introduced the new style in Italy, however, no other Italian painter of his generation adopted its compositional principles so completely as did Pinturicchio.

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Author: PINTURICCHIO Title: The Adoration of the Shepherds Time-line: 1451-1500 School: Italian Form: painting