Description
Instead of displaying the Christ child in a manger and enfolded in swaddling clothes, in his Adoration of the Shepherds, Ghirlandaio lies Christ on a fold of Mary’s robe against the ground, while all the other figures kneel in adoration around Him. Joseph turns away to look towards the dazzling parade of the approaching Magi. The pageant wends its way through an expertly rendered distance in a cheerful array of pinks, yellows, and reds flecked with gold leaf – precious highlights noticeably lacking in the foreground figures. Ghirlandaio himself occupies an unusually prominent position as the kneeling shepherd in the foreground pointing to the Child with his hand on his heart, demonstrating not only his authorship of the work, but his devotion to the subject.
