Tip: move over the painting to use the lens.
The Adoration of the Shepherds
Andrea Mantegna · shortly after 1450
- Artist
- Andrea Mantegna Italian, Isola di Carturo 1430/31–1506 Mantua
- Date
- shortly after 1450
- Medium
- Tempera on canvas, transferred from wood
- Size
- Overall 15 3/4 x 21 7/8 in. (40 x 55.6 cm); painted surface 14 7/8 x 21 in. (37.8 x 53.3 cm)
- Where to see it
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Purchase, Anonymous Gift, 1932 · CC0 Public Domain · The Met · see it at the museum ↗
Slow Look
- The whole picture Let your eyes wander. Where do they want to rest?
- The light Find the brightest spot. What is it showing you?
- The edges Look at what is half cut off at the borders.
- One small detail Choose one tiny thing and stay with it for a while.
- The whole picture again Step back. Has it changed for you?
About Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Roman archaeology, and the son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini.
What do you see?
Stand in front of it for a moment. Then tell us what you noticed or felt - there are no wrong answers.
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More by Andrea Mantegna
If you like this, stand in front of these
The Holy Family with the Young Saint John the BaptistAndrea del Sarto (Andrea d'Agnolo), ca. 1528
Jesus Mocked by the SoldiersÉdouard Manet, 1865
Christ Carrying the CrossSebastiano del Piombo, c. 1515–17
The Adoration of the MagiGiotto di Bondone, possibly ca. 1320
The Rest on the Flight into EgyptGerard David, ca. 1512–15
Madonna and ChildGiovanni Bellini, late 1480s