Adoration of the Shepherds (Savoldo)

Adoration of the Shepherds c. 1540, is an oil on 188 x 178 cm wood panel [1] painting by Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo, now in the Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo in Brescia.

[3] The painting is part of the painter's last phase, characterized by intense and sometimes dark shades and by a use of pasty color, capable of giving particular effects that simulate velvet.

The scene of the adoration of the Child is set in front of the hut, in which the ox and the donkey protrude from the half-light.

On the carpenter's shoe leaning forward you can see the detail of a veil of dust: a note of realism that later influenced Caravaggio.

In the distance, a glow illuminates the sky with dense turquoise tones: it is the only supernatural hint of the painting, representing the angel who gave the announcement.