The young Saint John the Baptist is included at the left & the Annunciation to the shepherds can be seen in the centre background. The journey of the Magi is depicted in the right background. This is one of three similar pictures of the same subject which appear to be by the same hand (the other two are in the United States, one in the Nelson Atkins Museum, Kansas City). It was formerly attributed to Savoldo. ...

In the background, an angel announces Christ’s birth to the shepherds. In the foreground, the same shepherds join the Virgin in worshipping the new-born Child. The ox & ass are stabled behind the manger. This painting originally formed the left-hand side of a diptych, bound in violet velvet with The Dead Christ at the right. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Guido Reni’s The Adoration of the Shepherds from our collection. About this painting The Adoration of the Shepherds, about 1640 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1957 With our custom print service, you can order your own fully customised reproduction from the National Gallery Collection & exhibitions. Choose your own size, print material & frames & have your masterpiece delivered straight to your door. ...

In front of classical ruins (symbolic of the old order, now superseded by Christianity) the shepherds, represented by the bare-footed old peasant kneeling prominently to the left with the ox & two boys behind, adore the Christ Child. The treatment of the Virgin & Saint Joseph, & of the ass silhouetted against the wall to the right, may have been influenced by the work of Orazio Gentileschi, a follower of Caravaggio who had worked in Paris. The mood in the painting is one of unusual calm & stillness, focused upon the Christ Child lying on the straw. Like a number of other paintings by the Le Nain brothers this one is painted over another composition. The head of the Virgin Mary in the earlier composition can be made out between those of Joseph & the boy shepherd. ...

Saint Joseph stands behind the Virgin who kneels by the Christ Child. The ox & ass are in the stall behind the manger. New Testament (Luke 2: 15-16). The composition derives from Rembrandt's versions of the subject, notably those of 1646 in Munich (Alte Pinakothek) & in the National Gallery. Barent was the younger brother of the painter Carel Fabritius, who had been one of Rembrandt's most talented pupils & who was prematurely killed in the explosion of the municipal gunpowder magazine in Delft in 1654. The Gallery owns two works by Carel: 'A View of Delft, with a Musical Instrument Seller's Stall' & 'A Young Man in a Fur Cap & a Cuirass (Self Portrait?)'. Barent mostly painted religious history scenes, genre subjects & portraits. ...

The Virgin lifts a white cloth to reveal the Christ Child to the kneeling shepherds who have come to adore him. This painting derives from a design by Jacopo Bassano (died 1592), known in several versions (the best is probably one in the Galleria Nazionale, Rome). Jacopo's sons & their assistants produced many derivations of his compositions, such as this painting. ...

Shepherds come to adore the Child Jesus lying in a manger. The inscription on the scroll refers to the words of the angels who appeared to the shepherds, singing the Lord's praises. (Luke 2: 8-17). This painting, which was previously attributed to Scarsellino (about 1550
- 1620), was probably painted in Northern Italy, perhaps in Ferrara. The orbit of Donducci (Il Mastelletta, 1575
- 1655) has also been suggested. It was probably painted quite early in the 17th century.

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The Christ Child has been laid in a manger & is surrounded by shepherds who have come to worship him. (Luke 2: 1-20). This painting is damaged & has been largely repainted. It has in the past been described as Italian (?) School, 17th century, & attributed to José Sarabia (1608
- 1669) & Cavallino. In spite of its condition, the types & poses, & what remains of the original tonality of the picture, support the attribution to Spinelli. The provenance supports a Neapolitan origin for the picture.
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There are nine choirs of music-making angels on each side of the Holy Family & adoring shepherds. Two larger angels, centre, blowing trumpets, herald the arrival of a further group of angels bearing the Instruments of the Passion. ...

This painting is a very early copy of one of the most celebrated of Correggio's compositions. It was regarded as the original by some connoisseurs even after the arrival in London of the original from the Spanish Royal Collection (London, Apsley House). T ...