Adoration of the Shepherds, 1483-1486 (tempera on board)

Adoration of the Shepherds (Adorazione dei pastori), by Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1483-1486, 15th Century, tempera on board, 167 x 167 cm Whole artwork view. The painting above the altar is about the Nativity of Christ; it features Mary adoring the Child Jesus, lying on his cloak on a flowery meadow, in the shade of an ancient Roman sarcophagus which is the manger to the ox and the donkey; St. Joseph, in the background, looks toward the arriving procession; on the right, three shepherds are watching the scene; the one indicating the child is a self-portrait of Ghirlandaio; on the background, a hilly landscape where there is a triumphal arch under which is passing the procession of Magi; on the thatched roof of the hut, supported by classical, fluted pillars, there is the light of the guiding star Domenico Ghirlandaio Church of Santa Trinita