Adoration of the Shepherds
Ca. 1539. Oil on panel.Room 052C
The present Adoration of the shepherds has been identified with the main part of an altarpiece made for valencian silk maker Jacobo Perpinyà. That altarpiece is topped by a representation of the Incarnation and, according to the contract signed on july 28, 1539, it was supposed to be identical to another painted by silk maker Franci Sanchiz.
The Adoration of the shepherds combines paternal elements (the Virgin, the Christ Child, young Saint John and the angels) with others that reflect yFernando Yáñez and Fernando Llanos’s debt to Leonardo da Vinci -especially the male physiognomies. It is especially interesting in its treatment of light, combining moonlight from outside with the indoor light of the candle held by Saint Joseph and celestial radiance. The appearance of God the Father and the dove of the Holy Ghost add an unusual trinitarian dimension to this episode from the gospels, forming an uncommon iconography, although there is a valencian precedent in the work of young Joanes.
The panel was central to an altarpiece made for the Valencian silk merchant Jacobo Perpinyà.
