Spanish mannerist school; second third of the 16th century.

Spanish mannerist school; second third of the 16th century.
"Adoration of the shepherds".
Oil on panel. Cradled.
It presents restorations in the pictorial surface and damages caused by xylophages.
Measurements: 115 x 95 cm; 138 x 117 cm (frame).
This panel represents a classic theme in the History of Art, that of the shepherds adoring the newborn baby Jesus in the portal of Bethlehem. It is a scene that normally lends itself to be interpreted as a large composition with numerous characters, worked in a costumbrista key. However, in this work a reduced number can be appreciated in such a way that the image is starred by the Holy Family and a single shepherd. The bluish and idealized landscapes that can be seen behind the windows denote the influence of the Flemish school. This is a painting from the Renaissance period and the Castilian school. The precision of the drawing welcomes rich ranges of color, to which the light gives silvery shades. Spain is, at the beginning of the 16th century, the European nation best prepared to receive the new humanist concepts of life and art due to its spiritual, political and economic conditions, although from the point of view of the plastic forms, its adaptation of those implanted by Italy was slower due to the need to learn the new techniques and to change the taste of the clientele. Soon the anatomy, the movement of the figures, the compositions with a sense of perspective and balance, the naturalistic play of the folds, the classical attitudes of the figures began to be valued; but the strong Gothic tradition maintains the expressiveness as a vehicle of the deep spiritualist sense. This strong and healthy tradition favors the continuity of religious painting by adding a sense of balance that avoids its predominance over the immaterial content that animates the forms. In the first years of the century, Italian works arrived in our lands and some of our artists went to Italy, where they learned first hand the new norms in the most progressive centers of Italian art, such as Florence or Rome, and even in Naples.
It is worth mentioning the treatment of color, with a palette of bright colors that only darken in the final planes. Due to the technical characteristics, such as the modeling of the forms, the tonalities used, the type of composition, and even the aesthetic details used in the treatment of the fabrics that make up the scene, this work can be inscribed within the mannerist school. In fact, a very characteristic feature of this school is the anatomical elongation.