Jan Steen - The Adoration of the Shepherds

 

      Tenderly Mary shows the newborn baby Jesus to the shepherds. They have come to the stable in great numbers, bearing all sorts of gifts. They gaze in reverence at the radiant child in the manger. The stable, in which an ox and a donkey occupy a prominent place, is shrouded in darkness. But outside, the dawn is nigh, a reference to the era heralded by the birth of Jesus. Jan Steen has transformed this biblical tale into an eminently human event. There is the same warmth and humour as in the scenes of everyday life: Joseph accepts a bowl of eggs, while on the left a child is warming up some porridge. The painting is in the Rijksmuseum.