Adoration of the Shepherds is a c. 1642 oil on canvas painting by Guido Reni, commissioned by Giovan Battista Pisante, prior of the Certosa di San Martino in Naples, and still hanging on the main wall of the choir of that institution's church. [1] [2]
The commission was part of the prior's aim to refurbish the whole interior of the complex in the early decades of the 17th century. It was probably agreed in the late 1630s, though it was only placed on the choir wall in 1642, since upon Reni's death on 18 August that year his heirs only sent the completed work later. It has a particularly elaborate frame, with the side walls featuring two pairs of paintings - the 1589 Last Supper by Paolo Veronese and his studio paired with Massimo Stanzione's 1639 Passover of the Hebrews on the right hand wall and Battistello Caracciolo's 1622 Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet and Jusepe de Ribera's 1651 Communion of the Apostles on the left hand wall.
Right from its completion onwards the fathers of the Certosa highly valued the work, as can be seen by the fact that - when Reni's heirs argued that the colouring was incomplete and attempted to reacquire it - they failed. Early art history considers the work to be incomplete, but other completed autograph Reni works show similar colour drafting and so the work is now thought to be wholly autograph. [1] In his writings Carlo Cesare Malvasia mentioned various other compositions on the same subject produced by Reni around the same time, including a c.1640 one now at the National Gallery, London similar to the Naples work, albeit slightly smaller and with small variations. [1] [3]
Guido Reni was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but also mythological and allegorical subjects. Active in Rome, Naples, and his native Bologna, he became the dominant figure in the Bolognese School that emerged under the influence of the Carracci.
Belisario Corenzio was a Greek-Italian painter, active in Venice and Naples. He is one of few Greek painters that did not belong to the Cretan Renaissance like his contemporaries of the time. He escaped the maniera greca completely. He adopted the Venetian style. Other similar Greek painters were Marco Basaiti, Ioannis Permeniates, Antonio Vassilacchi and El Greco. He was sometimes referred to as Il Greco. His teacher was prominent Venetian painter Tintoretto. In 1590, at age 32 Corenzio settled in Naples. Corenzio was influenced by Cavalier d'Arpino. He continued to flourish in the region. His apprentices included: Luigi Rodriguez, Andrea di Leone, Onofrio De Lione and Massimo Stanzione. Corenzio painted many frescos that survived today. Some of his works are in the Church of San Severino and Certosa di San Martino. His style resembles Caravaggio. An Italian legend in Naples exists involving Corenzio, Spanish painter Jusepe de Ribera, and Battistello Caracciolo. They were referred to as the Cabal of Naples. The three painters were rumored to have poisoned their competition for painting contracts. The rumors lack documented evidence. The three painters were very popular in Naples. Corenzio frescoed the Crypt that holds the remains of Matthew the Apostle at Salerno Cathedral and it depicts scenes from the Gospel of Matthew. Corenzio was one of the most celebrated fresco painters in Naples during his time. His drawings can be found all over the world namely at the Metropolitan Museum, Museo di Capodimonte and Louvre. More recently, his life and work was studied by the Greek art historian Panayotis K. Ioannou in a comprehensive monograph.
The Adoration of the Shepherds is an episode in the story of Jesus's nativity in which shepherds are near witnesses to his birth in Bethlehem, arriving soon after he is actually born. It is recounted, or at least implied, in the Gospel of Luke and follows on from the annunciation to the shepherds, in which the shepherds are summoned by an angel to the scene of the birth. Like the episode preceding it, the adoration is a common subject in art, where it is often combined with the Adoration of the Magi. In such cases it is typically just referred to by the latter title.
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