In front of classical ruins (symbolic of the old order, now superseded by Christianity) the shepherds, represented by the bare-footed old peasant kneeling prominently to the left with the ox & two boys behind, adore the Christ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. ...

This panel is usually said to have been part of a predella of an altarpiece, but it may have formed a single panel, possibly below an altarpiece. Although evidently painted very quickly, as was commonly the case with Signorelli, some of the forms
- notably the cloak of Saint Joseph
- have great monumentality.

...

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.

...

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 ...

Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, near Jerusalem (seen in the left background), while three of his disciples sleep. An angel reveals a chalice containing a cross. Judas approaches on the right with the Roman soldiers who will arrest Jesus. New Testament (Mark 14: 32-43). Dramatic nocturnes were a novelty in north Italian painting associated with Giorgione. ...

Create your own bespoke print of Giovanni Bellini's The Agony in the Garden from our collection. About this painting The Agony in the Garden, about 1458-60 © The National Gallery, London This painting joined our collection in 1863 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. ...

Christ kneels in the centre; at the upper left an angel appears to him with a cup, a reference to his forthcoming Passion. In the background on the left are the sleeping apostles
- Peter, James the Greater & John; on the right Judas approaches with sold
...