Adoration of the Shepherds. Carved and polychromed wood. Colonial school, 18th

Virgin and Child Jesus. Carved and polychrome wood. Spanish School, 14th century. A polychrome wooden carving with gold highlights depicting the Virgin Mary seated on a low throne, ...

The relief was probably a door of the Sagrario. The piece follows a customary decoration in the tabernacles of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Compare, for example, with the sevente...

Virgin with Child. Carved and polychrome wood. Spanish school, 13th century. It has faults. Polychrome wood carving that shows the Virgin sitting on a throne, with her right hand r...

Spanish Baroque sculpture is one of the most authentic and personal examples of our art, because its conception and its form of expression arose from the people and from the deepest ...

Early 16th Century Spanish carved-wood and polychromed panel of The Betrothal and Love of Joseph and Mary mounted on a Lucite panel and framed with a walnut wood hand-finished frame.

Late 17th Century Russian Orthodox Icon of the Nativity of the Mother of God painted over gold leaf and gesso laid on a wooden board. It has been framed with a gold gilded museum mou...

While the birth of Christ is briefly told in the Gospel of Luke (2, 7) it is in the apocryphal texts that we find most of the elements and details that have then inspired artists. As of the 14th century and even more of the 15th century the subject of the Adoration of the Child replaces in Western art the scene of the Birth, much favoured in Byzantine art. Instead of being depicted lying with the new-born swathed in the manger, the Virgin is now kneeling, her hands joined in prayer in front of the naked child. This change was probably hastened by the popularity of the visions of Saint Bridget of Sweden to whom the Virgin allegedly appeared to show how she had given birth to Jesus (Visions, VII, chap. 21). Sheltered by a thatch-roofed structure the Virgin is kneeling in front of the Child Jesus. She wears a magnificent red dress under a large gold cloak. Her curled blond hair is partially veiled. The newborn is lying on a straw mat. Joseph is depicted with a parted beard and stands opposite from the Virgin. He wears a tunic and a coat with a purse hanging from the belt. His costume reminds us of the long journey him and Mary have accomplished to reach Bethlehem. Two other women are present. One is looking through the stable’s window to observe the Holy Family while another one kneels in prayer in front of the divine child. The rich costume of the lady might indicate she is a donator. However they could also both represent the women who took part in the birth of Christ, Zelemi and Salome. Salome, incredulous did not believe in the virginal conception of Mary and she is represented far from the scene. The artist has depicted her with an expression of doubt on her face. Zelemi, on the contrary, is a believer. She is rewarded by a place of honour at the heart of the scene, close to Mary. To the left the donkey and ox that have accompanied Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem observe quietly the scene. On the foreground two angels hold a scroll reading an excerpt from the Gloria : “/Gloria/ in excelsis /Deo/.” One of the angels wears a blue cape while the other’s is red Those two colours are very significant as during Middle-Ages blue symbolises hope and red charity. Together they express the hope in redemption thanks to the advent of Christ and his sacrifice to come. Above the main scene, up a cliff, a small shepherd lets his herd of sheep graze amidst the trees. He is framed by two walled cities. This wood carving is the work of a very skilled and inventive artist. The piece bears witness to his exceptional talent. The realism of the scene is emphasised by the amount of details depicted. The refinement of the carving itself is highlighted by the well preserved polychromy. This key moment of the New Testament is set in a contemporary context thanks to the clothes of the characters and the scenes of rural life. The universal dimension of the scene is intensified while allowing contemporary viewers to grasp its meaning more easily. This care for details, the picturesque realism as well as the extraordinary rendition of the cloths suggest it was made by a Flemish artist during the late 15th century. This relief can be compared with the panel of the Nativity from the Saint-Vaast altarpiece made by Jacques Daret between 1433 and 1435, today in Madrid’s Thyssen-Bronemisza Museum. Literature Louis Réau, Iconographie de l’Art chrétien...

Domenico Carnevale (Sassuolo, 1524 - Modena, 1579) Adoration of the Shepherds Oil on copper, 42 x 28 cm Frame 54 x 36 cm Expert opinion of Prof. Emilio Negro The painting represents the Adoration of the Shepherds, the Child in the center, next to the Madonna kneeling in prayer and an angel behind her; towards him in the foreground a woman with a child in her arms, a shepherd with a sheep on the right, a bagpiper on the left and various other male and female characters turn to him. The architectures of the background, between which a glimpse of the landscape can be glimpsed, are hidden in the upper part by the clouds, where a "celestial glory" encamps with three flying angels. The painting shows mannerist characters that can be traced back to the second half of the sixteenth century, and can be traced back to an author from the Modena area, with stylistic references to the Bolognese Samacchini (1532 - 1577) and Passerotti (1529 - 1592). More precisely, it can be attributed to Domenico Carnevale (1524-1579), one of the most important masters of the sixteenth century active in the local area. The Carnival was formed in Emilia, his homeland, where he worked for many years. However, his works also show a clear Roman influence, dictated by a long experience in the city, during which he also dedicated himself to the restoration of the Sistine Chapel. Trained in the late-mannerist environment of Modena, he is also linked to the Parmesan Corrorese and Ferrarese Dossesque tradition; Carnival also always maintains a slight archaic sentiment in his work, The main stylistic reference must be identified in a work similar in subject and iconographic setting, coming from the church of the Pio Istituto Orfanelle di San Geminiano di Modena, currently part of the Art Collection of the Province, attributed to the same influence as the Carnival. Another interesting comparison should be identified with A Presentation of Jesus in the Temple...