Adoration of the Shepherds
1650
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
About the artist
Artist
Bernardo Cavallino
Bernardo Cavallino (25 August 1616 – 1656) was an Italian painter and draughtsman.
See the richer artist page1650
unspecified
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Adoration of the Shepherds is a 1650 unspecified by Bernardo Cavallino, a Baroque work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
You see Mary cradling baby Jesus while Joseph and shepherds watch. Tiny angels swirl above, holding a banner that reads “Glory to God in the highest.” Most Nativity scenes crowd everyone around the manger. Here, Mary is the only one who notices the angels. The others look at the baby, but her eyes lift upward, as if she already hears the future. To see how other artists painted angels in soft light, look up chiaroscuro.
Cavallino worked in Naples where he was not well known during his lifetime, but was alert to the work of contemporaries whose innovations he transformed with extraordinary delicacy and charm. The adoration of the shepherds is a traditional subject, but here Cavallino shows it in a new light. The focus is on Mary, indicating that she alone is aware of the angels who flutter above with ribbons proclaiming Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Glory to God in the highest). Joseph and the shepherds stolidly regard the child, but the sweetness of Mary's expression simultaneously reveals her love, pride, and…
The artist signed this painting with his monogram “BC” on the rump of the ox.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Bernardo Cavallino (25 August 1616 – 1656) was an Italian painter and draughtsman.
See the richer artist page
